An incident at Penticton’s Riverside Starbucks drive-thru has led a woman to sue the coffee chain.
Melissa Leveque is seeking $35,000 in compensation for actions she claims were negligent on part of Starbucks staff which caused her to spill hot tea on her lap.
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Leveque claims that on June 2, 2020, she and her husband went through the Riverside Starbucks drive-thru. Leveque ordered a tea that was given to her with an unsecured lid causing her to spill hot tea on her lap prior to leaving the drive-thru, according to her claim filed in Penticton court Oct. 26.
“The claimant ordered a tea and it was delivered to the vehicle by a Starbucks employee via a mug at the drive-thru window. The delivery method was a COVID-19 precaution, the employee passing the Starbucks cup was not physically touching it,” says the notice of claim.
“The claimant’s husband removed the cup from the mug and passed it to the claimant. The claimant received the cup and prior to leaving the drive-thru the lid came off causing scalding-hot tea to land on the claimant’s legs.”
The claim alleges the tea was heated to a temperature “above the manufacturer’s recommendations,” that Starbucks used an unsuitable cup and/or lid, that the lid was defective, that the lid was not properly secured to the cup and that the employee did not take “adequate precautions” to ensure the lid was securely attached to the cup.
Leveque claims she suffered second-degree burns from the tea.
She’s seeking $35,000 from the Starbucks corporation to compensate for medical expenses and her pain and suffering.
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