Lost $4 Million Over a Cup of Hot Coffee... The Land of Jaw-Dropping Lawsuits, the US [News Seolcham]

The US Ranks Fifth Worldwide in Number of Lawyers
Large Compensation Verdicts Common Due to Punitive Damages
Consumers Challenge Corporations Through Class Action Lawsuits

Editor's Note'Seolcham' is a newly coined term meaning "please refer to the explanation for more details." In [News Seolcham], we aim to highlight and explain in greater detail the parts of the news that require fact-checking or further clarification.

"As expected, the land of lawsuits." This is how people often react whenever a large compensation verdict is issued in the United States. Why has the US earned the reputation of being a "land of lawsuits"?

In the US, many everyday issues, such as contract and consumer disputes, are often resolved through litigation. According to the "Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics" from the US federal courts, as of last year, approximately 350,000 lawsuits were filed in federal courts, with about 280,000 of them?80%?being civil cases. On average, about 5% of civil lawsuits resulted in punitive damages. There were more than 89 cases of ultra-large punitive damages awards exceeding $100 million between 2020 and 2023. Alex Berezow, a senior fellow at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), described the US as a "litigious society" in a 2019 ACSH column, pointing out that excessive litigation is placing a burden on the social system.

Because of the high number of lawsuits, there is also a high number of lawyers per capita. According to a 2025 country-by-country report on the number of lawyers per capita by the demographic analysis firm World Population Review (WPR), the US ranks fifth, with 402 lawyers per 100,000 people, following Israel, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Italy. This is much higher than the United Kingdom (226), Germany (191), or South Korea (116).

In the US, when harm is caused by the intentional, malicious, or gross negligence of the perpetrator, monetary compensation is imposed not only to compensate the victim but also for punitive purposes. This is why large compensation verdicts are common. US consumers mainly file for damages against corporate actions through class action lawsuits and thereby secure their rights.

One of the most famous cases is the so-called "McDonald's coffee case." In 1994, a woman in her seventies purchased hot coffee at McDonald's and suffered burns, for which she demanded medical expenses and compensation. She sustained third-degree burns to her lower body due to the coffee, and the tissue on her thighs and buttocks was so severely damaged that she required skin grafts.

The court at the time ordered McDonald's to pay approximately $2.9 million (about 4 billion won) in medical expenses and damages to the customer. The decision was based on the fact that McDonald's did not adequately warn about the risks when handing over the hot coffee and had failed to take action despite receiving hundreds of complaints about coffee burns over several years. However, following criticism that the compensation was excessive, the amount was adjusted by mutual agreement before the appeal, and the settlement amount was not disclosed. This case became the impetus for all coffee shops to include warning labels such as "Caution: Hot Coffee" on cups or paper sleeves.

Virtual image created with ChatGPT.

There are also cases where lawsuits are filed for "false advertising" when the product does not match the advertisement. In 2015, the sandwich brand Subway was sued because the length of its sandwiches differed from what was advertised. Subway's sandwiches are supposed to be 12 inches long, but when a customer measured one with a ruler, the bread was 2.5 centimeters shorter. Subway argued that the bread could vary in size and shape due to the dough and baking process, but the court ruled that Subway must pay about $500,000 in legal fees and compensation.

Recently, the global burger franchise Burger King was also sued for alleged false advertising. Nineteen consumers who filed the lawsuit claimed that Burger King advertised its burgers as being larger than those of its competitors, but that the actual burgers were smaller than shown in the advertisements. Burger King responded by stating, "We used the same ingredients as those served to customers and simply presented the burgers in an appealing way. Any reasonable consumer would know that the main purpose of advertising photos is to make the food look as appetizing as possible." However, the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled last month that this could constitute deceptive conduct beyond mere puffery and did not accept Burger King's motion to dismiss. As a result, a substantive trial will proceed in the future.

There are also rulings holding tobacco companies liable for diseases such as lung cancer caused by smoking. In 1994, the governments of 46 US states filed lawsuits against tobacco companies such as Philip Morris, arguing that they should be held accountable for manufacturing products that claimed the lives of about 430,000 Americans each year. The tobacco companies countered that it was difficult to prove a causal relationship between smoking and disease. However, as public sentiment grew in favor of strengthening corporate responsibility for the addictiveness and harmfulness of tobacco, the tobacco companies agreed to pay $206 billion (about 283 trillion won) to the state governments over 25 years.