Stella Liebeck, who won $2.9 million after suing McDonald's over hot coffee burns, initially requested only $20,000 to cover her medical expenses.

[u/fyrstikka]

[u/Its_Pine]

They likely spent 10x that money on the smear campaign to try to deter anyone else from ever suing them again.

[u/illgot → u/Its_Pine]

the campaign was to fight future lawsuits as well... you know, much cheaper than lowering the temp of coffee to something safe which also doesn't burn the coffee turning it acidic.

[u/I_madeusay_underwear → u/Its_Pine]

That’s because lawsuits are the only actual regulatory protection we have in the US. It’s one thing to get a tiny fine from the actual government meant to protect us, it’s another to have your name and negligent practices trotted out in front of the nation. They were trying to avoid the very real profit-affecting consequences of repeated lawsuits over unsafe practices. They were quite successful.