In the ABC mart located right off the busy 10 freeway in Los Angeles, there were signs plastered on the windows stating that coffee was guaranteed to keep drivers alert while they were navigating busy L.A. traffic. There was a picture of a driver holding a cup of "Steaming Hot" ABC coffee in one hand while he had the other hand on the steering wheel. The coffee depicted in the ad showed a cup with a lid on it and illustrated steam being emitted from the small hole on the lid.

ABC bought its coffee makers from Coffee Corporation (C Inc.). The temperature at which the C Inc's coffee maker brews coffee is 179 degrees. It was widely known that a third degree burn can result from 60 seconds of exposure to liquids at 140 Fahrenheit, but only 3 seconds of exposure will cause a third degree burn from a liquid at 179 Fahrenheit.

ABC purchases the styrofoam cups in which its coffee is served from Cuppa Corporation (Cuppa). Recently Cuppa changed the style of its styrofoam cups from those that had attached lids to those where the lids were produced separately and had a mechanism where the lid could be snapped onto the top of the cup. Cuppa was saving thousand of dollars annually by changing the style of the cups.

Ralph and his wife Madge had been taking a long-distance road trip from Portland, Oregon when they stopped in the ABC in Los Angeles to get some coffee and snacks. Ralph had been doing all of the driving since Madge did not have a driver's license. Ralph liked having his coffee very hot and strong and he was a big fan of "Steaming Hot" ABC coffee for those reasons.

They got back on the freeway after purchasing their snacks, with Ralph driving and drinking his coffee without the lid secured since he was unable to get it to 'snap' into place properly. Madge was sitting next to him in the front passenger seat of their car, eating her snack.

After driving for a few minutes, Ralph handed Madge the coffee cup and asked her to take the lid completely off for him so that he could appreciate the coffee's 'full aroma.' Just as Madge easily removed the lid, traffic came to a sudden halt and as Ralph hit the brakes, the hot coffee poured out of the cup and onto Madge's arms. As a result, Madge suffered severe third-degree burns from her left elbow down to her left hand.

On what theory or theories may Madge recover damages from:

1. ABC? Discuss.
2. C Inc.? Discuss.
3. Cuppa? Discuss.

What are possible defenses?

No need to discuss Negligence or any Intentional Torts

Use the IRAC format.