Penny Mance was a single mother of three children living in an urban apartment complex. She worked as a paralegal in a downtown attorney's office. One morning, Ms. Mance was asked to come into work an hour later than her usual time. She used the opportunity to treat her three children to breakfast at a fastfood restaurant near their home. The Mance family arrived at the restaurant at 8:00 A.M. and ordered breakfast. For their beverage selections, Ms. Mance ordered hot chocolate and the children selected orange juice. After the family sat down, Tina, Ms. Mance's sixyearold daughter told her mother that she wanted to try the hot chocolate. The beverage had been served in a Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid. Penny replied that the chocolate was "probably too hot for her to try." This comment was overheard by several guests sitting near the Mance family. Tina reached for the chocolate anyway; her mother, while trying to pull the chocolate away, spilled it on her own hands. Ms. Mance suffered second and thirddegree burns from the hot chocolate and was forced to miss work for three weeks. Upon returning, her typing speed was severely reduced as a result of tissue scarring on her left hand. Ms. Mance retained one of the attorneys where she worked to sue the fastfood restaurant. In court depositions taken later on, it was estimated that the chocolate was served at a temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The restaurant's attorney claimed the chocolate was not unsafe when it was served. He pointed to the fact that Ms. Mance knew the beverage was probably too hot for the child as an indication that she was willing to accept the risk of drinking a hot beverage. In addition, the restaurant's attorney maintained that it was the child's action, not the restaurant's, which was the direct cause of the accident. Undeterred, Ms. Mance's attorney sued for damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, and a large amount for punitive damages.

Did the restaurant act negligently in the serving of the hot chocolate?

Do you think that Penny Mance was negligent? If so, how much difference, if any, do you believe that her negligence would make in the size of the jury's award?

Whom should the restaurant manager and company look to for guidance on property serving temperatures and techniques?

Could you defend this source in court?