Re: McDonalds Coffee Lady

Remember the lady who sued McDonalds because her coffee was too hot?

This was back in 1992. Stella Liebeck ordered a cup’o’joe to go. She was sitting in her nephew’s car, pulled over so she could add sugar to her coffee.

When she tried to remove the lid, the coffee spilled on her legs causing third degree burns over six percent of her body.

Ms. Liebeck sued McDonalds for $20,000 in damages.

She won.

She was awarded $200,000. That amount was reduced to $160,000 because she was found to be 20% at fault.

The real kicker was she was also awarded $2.7 MILLION in punitive damages.

Raise your hand if you think McDonalds wishes it would have just paid the $20k?

But that was 1992. People can’t file these frivolous lawsuits any more, right?

Wrong.

The truth is, people can sue you for just about anything in 2018.

And in our world of real estate, the numbers can be big. You better believe eventually, some how, some way, someone is coming after your money.

But what can you do?

Can, or should, you defend yourself?

What are your chances of “winning” even if you do hire an attorney?

What can you do to prepare yourself for when it does happen?

I can’t give you legal advice. I’m not an attorney. But our next WREIA guest speaker is – and he is bringing some good “from the trenches” stories next Monday.

Our WREIA speaker this month is going to give you real-life examples of mistakes that he sees new and old investors making over and over and over again. Those preventable mistakes are usually what brings people to his practice looking for legal help.

This is a great time to learn from other peoples mistakes. It could save you some serious headaches and sleepless nights down the road. Not to mention – it could save you a small fortune in legal bills.

Join me on May 14th as we talk about real estate law.

Join us and learn:

• Case Studies – Including…. Real Estate Partnerships Gone Wrong
• Financing “Loopholes” or Traps?
• Money Problems In MD Transactions
• Beware of these “legal speed bumps”
• Contractors – Buckle Up or Go Broke
• When financing goes bad – a few stories you can learn from and avoid
  and more

Bring your questions for the Q&A section. Our speaker is a local attorney and long-time WREIA Member with extensive experience working with investors across the DC area.

Save a few dollars and reserve your seat early. Then, come join us at WREIA – Monday, May 14th. It will be a great meeting to finally start the spring season, get you motivated, and get some momentum for the rest of 2018.

Join us as we talk about Real Estate Legal Problems and Lawsuits.

Meet real people doing real deals in real estate – right here in the DC/Baltimore area.

Reserve your seat at this link.

John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association