Starbucks Corp. is asking a judge to bar requests for the company’s assets made by a customer who sued the coffee chain, alleging to have suffered serious burns from a spilled hot drink purchased at one of its stores.
In court papers filed Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Kemalyan, Starbucks attorneys contend that it is unnecessary and premature for plaintiff Sala Lily Shabdiz to be making such requests.
“Plaintiff’s known medical specials total less than $3,000,” the Starbucks lawyers state. “Plaintiff now seeks punitive damages and seeks extensive, unduly burdensome financial and other document discovery from Starbucks.”
One request by Shabdiz is to produce all financial analyses or cost-benefit reports comparing the expense of redesigning Starbucks’ hot beverage packaging versus settling burn injury claims, while another would have Starbucks turn over all financial documents showing how much it has spent on settlements or verdicts related to burn injuries in the past 10 years, according to the Starbucks lawyers’ court papers.
Yet another request by Shabdiz is for Starbucks to turn over financial statements, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for the past five years, according to the defendant’s attorneys’ court papers.
“These requests demand evidence of defendant’s financial condition prior to establishing a prima facie case of liability for punitive damages,” the Starbucks attorneys further state. “Thus … defendant respectfully asks this court to grant the motion and order the requested relief.”
A hearing on the Starbucks request for a protective order is scheduled for Feb. 17.
Shabdiz, then a 21-year-old USC student, says 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. Specifically, Shabdiz contends she sustained 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. 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 brought in November 2023.
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 2025, a Los Angeles jury awarded Postmates driver Michael Garcia $50 million for burns suffered from a spilled drink bought at a Starbucks drive-through in Jefferson Park.
Just bullshit. She lifted the tea from the car holder after she got home, spilt it on herself, and figures she needs financial compensation. What, for not being careful with a hot drink? Who’s to say she didn’t do this on purpose trying for a $50 million payout? Or, hey, maybe it was an accident. But take responsibility for their own stupidity okay?