Starbucks sued by oil and gas exec after wobbly table spills hot tea on genitals
please try other servers beside.
An oil and gas executive is suing Starbucks after claiming a wobbly table caused scalding tea to spill onto his genitals, leaving him with permanent injuries.
Vladimir Podlipskiy, 63, alleges the incident happened while he was meeting colleagues at a Starbucks in San Diego in August 2024.
According to the complaint, an employee repeatedly asked Podlipskiy to move his chair closer to the table despite it allegedly being “unstable, loose, defective, and/or wobbly.”
The lawsuit claims the tea was served with an improperly secured lid and suddenly spilled onto his lap, groin, and genitals. Podlipskiy says he suffered burns, disfigurement, emotional distress, and “debilitating nerve damage to his genitals.”
His attorney, Nick Rowley, said the alleged spill also resulted in permanent disfigurement and sexual dysfunction.
Starbucks denies hot tea lawsuit allegations
The complaint was initially filed in San Diego Superior Court on June 24 before being moved to federal court on August 6. Podlipskiy is seeking damages to be determined at trial, along with legal fees and court costs.
Starbucks has denied the allegations. In its response, the company argued that Podlipskiy may not have taken appropriate steps to limit his injuries, including seeking timely or recommended medical treatment.
Rowley previously represented Postmates driver Michael Garcia, who was awarded $50 million after a Starbucks tea spilled onto his lap in 2020. A jury found the drink had not been properly secured inside its cardboard carrier.
The lawsuit follows several other unusual cases involving major restaurant chains. Two customers recently sued Popeyes for more than $1.5 million over an alleged “condom-like” object found in fried chicken.
Outback Steakhouse was also hit with a $1.5 million lawsuit from a woman who claims she slipped on mashed potatoes, while an 84-year-old Florida man sued Waffle House after alleging its window advertisements distracted him from a curb.
