A judge says she may impose a $150 fine after no one on the plaintiff’s side showed up for a hearing on yet another lawsuit by a customer alleging to have suffered serious burns from a spilled hot drink bought at a Starbucks store.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lynne M. Hobbs scheduled a Sept. 29 hearing during which an attorney for plaintiff Sala Lily Shabdiz will be asked to explain the non-appearance that occurred for Monday’s case management conference. A Starbucks lawyer appeared by telephone.
Shabdiz, then a 21-year-old USC student, alleges she suffered a “severe and permanently injuring burn” from the beverage she bought at the Starbucks store in the 2700 block of South Figueroa Street on Feb. 23, 2022.
In her lawsuit brought in November 2023, Shabdiz contends she suffered severe thigh burns after the lid of the 16-ounce cup of jade citrus mint tea heated to more than 200 degrees fell off and the liquid spilled onto her legs after she returned to her home, which was minutes away from the Starbucks store. Shabdiz contends the lid came off due to the way the drive-through employee handed the cup to her.
Both Shabdiz and a friend went to the store after ordering online, the suit states.
“Neither plaintiff nor her friend ordered their beverages extra hot,” the suit states.
The cashier handed Shabdiz two separate cups and held the cup that eventually spilled from the sides, leaving the plaintiff no room to securely take hold of the beverage in the sleeve area of the cup traditionally intended for hands to be placed, according to the suit.
Although the first cup given to Shabdiz — which she then handed to her friend — was double-cupped, the plaintiff’s tea had only a sleeve, the suit states.
When Shabdiz got home and lifted her tea out of the car cup holder, the cup bent because of the hot temperature of the liquid, causing the lid to come off and the hot contents then spilled onto her leggings, which stuck to and burned her thighs, the suit states.
“Plaintiff was handed the hot tea in such a way, including manner of transfer and condition of the single-cupped container, that even her utmost due care could not prevent the hot tea from falling in her lap,” the suit alleges.
In March, a Los Angeles jury awarded Postmates driver Michael Garcia $50 million for burns suffered from a spilled drink at a Starbucks bought at a drive-through at a store in Jefferson Park. Plaintiffs who allege they were similarly injured during visits to drive-throughs at Starbucks locations in Norwalk and North Hollywood are pending trial.