Staten Island college in hot coffee case

A fresh ‘hot coffee’ case has emerged over the weekend, but this one differs from previous stories that have been picked up by the press.

The defendant isn’t a globally known chain that casual readers might be familiar with; instead it is a catering firm who operates an academically based coffee shop.

Bernadette Dunning, 27, is attempting to sue owners of Bits and Bytes Cyber Cafe, a popular coffee shop located in the College of Staten Island’s library, relating to an incident that took place last year.

The $1 million lawsuit alleges that Ms Dunning was scalded by a cup of hot coffee, according to the papers filed at St. George’s Supreme Court.

It has been claimed that Dunning was severely burnt when something fell from the top of a cash register and knocked over a cup of coffee that she was in the process of purchasing. The contents of said cup spilled over her, forcing her to seek medical treatment for burns and blistering. Her lawyer, Raymond Pezzoli, says that she has suffered scarring and discoloration of the affected hand.

Auxiliary Services Corporation (CSI ASC) has been identified as the defendant. Interestingly, according to the institution’s website, CSI ASC is a non-profit entity that has been in existence for nearly four decades and provides beverage-based services to staff, pupils and visitors at the Staten Island school.

Five on the board’s members are current students.

This isn’t your usual story of a regular, everyday person fighting a big corporation.

Obviously coffee will always be hot, but there is no reason for the beverage to be served at a temperature which can cause permanent damage to the human body. One must only remember the ground-breaking – and horrific – case of Liebeck v. McDonald’s which made headlines across the United States in the early 1990s.

After a period of back-and-forth legal wrangling, it emerged that the chain served its coffee at 180°F – far, far hotter than any safe limit for consumption or handling.