Hey, let's sue Starbucks!

Starbucks has been slapped with a lawsuit three years after a Missouri altercation over an open Starbucks tip jar led to the death of 54-year-old Roger Kreutz.

On March 3, 2008, Kreutz chased down then 19-year-old Aaron Poisson after seeing the culprit nab a tip jar with less than $5 inside it. The two physically struggled outside Poisson's car, but Poisson eventually broke free. He then backed his Ford out of a parking spot and over Kreutz, who later died of head injuries.

Kuertz's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in St. Louis County Circuit Court on Monday, but not against Poisson. They're blaming Starbucks, who they allege "invited criminal behavior" by leaving tip jars "within reach of customers." According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

The lawsuit alleges that Starbucks "did not employ security to prevent the perpetration of such crimes" and that it "invited the act of perpetration of said crime" by having a tip jar.
As a "direct and proximate" result of this, Kreutz was killed after he was hit by the car, the filing claims.

It says Starbucks had a duty to "exercise reasonable care" to protect Kreutz or give him adequate warning against harm.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/09/starbucks-faces-lawsuit-o_n_833748.html

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Fuck did that guy go chase after that mug??? Sheeesh! 54 years old. Kinda old if he wasn't the manager.

I don't get it. Did the guy lay down under his car and wait for him to start it and back out??

Oh, ffs! This is some ambulance-chasing lawyer telling the family "You'll never recoup any money from the scumbag who stole the tip jar, but Starbucks has deep pockets..."

Every place I've ever worked, "don't resist robbers, don't chase shoplifters" has been part of the training. Starbucks is covered here.

No doubt. But the guy was nuts to chase the dude. And St. Louis has a wee bit of gang banger activity.

What would Apostle have done if he was a customer and witnessed this??

Easy there...they probably already went after the kid's insurance and only got a small amount. Therefore they're taking a shot at Starbucks. Nothing to loose...

St. Louis gang bang? Hmmm...

If nothing else, the lawyer gets a big publicity boost, regardless of how the suit ends up. But while this is not *quite* as egregious as the McDonald's hot coffee suit, you've got to admit it's in the same neighborhood.

What could he do? He weighs as much as an orca! Chasing someone is not an option for him.

Let me add....FUCK TIPPING at Starbucks!!

Right. Picture this...."Thank's for that $6 super delux mocha whatchamacallit. Here's $2 more for a tip."

Right.

No...they've got nothing to loose and everything to gain by suing Bucks.

Yeah, I don't get that either. We're not expected to tip anyone at McDonalds, and they're doing pretty much the same thing. It's worse when they have a tip feature on the debit machine. Fuckers.

McDs does not allow employees to take tips.

I was out one night with a young lady for dinner. The bill came and I just gave credit card and a $20 for tip. Then the waiter said it was already on there. I was like "WHAT??"

"Put in for 2 people?? I usually see that with groups of 6 or more."

"Sorry"

Got my $20 back and saw that the auto tip was $12.

Sucker!!!

Umm...if the Tip Jar isn't "within reach of [the] customers", doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?!?

Not that I'd ever tip someone working a counter for simply doing their job, mind you.... Personally, I detest the proliferation of Tip Jars. It's one thing to tip for restaurant severs, bartenders, and hair stylists...that's pretty much built-in to the American social consciousness.

But a barista or someone working the counter at Burger King or the Quickie Mart? Fuck No!!!

More on the thread topic...this is totally just a money grab attempt.

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I fucking hate that shit. It is up to ME and only ME to decide if the service provided warrants a tip or not.

Damn that guy was crazy. If I saw someone steal $5 I'd just go buy a cheap jar at Target and drop $5 in it for the Starbucks people. Seriously, not that big a deal. No need to chase the kid down, just file a police report and see if you can get his license plate or if security footage caught his face.

Why did the family sue? Cuz 54 yr old Dad was the main bread winner. And the best he could do was slinging coffee at Starbucks.

Rough times in America.

Yeah. It's making it hard to tell what's going on in job applications - fancy terms like "biological technician" could mean anything from "field biologist who should have at least two PhDs and twenty published papers" to "petri dish scrubber with GED".

It's italian for "bartender."

Starbucks I go to, the cashier pours the regular coffee, the barista makes the more complicated lattes and whatnot.



Just sayin'.

I don't drink none of that bullshit. Regular coffee for me. I'm not picky about it at all.

Coffee and a friggin' buttered roll. Chop. Chop.

Black people are so simple

You sound like you're dating Volpone.

Those people are banking on a settlement to make them go away...so greedy.

I doubt they would win in a court case...the guy chose to chase the thief down and put himself in harm's way...not Starbuck's.

Is this the same thing as Kansas City faggots?

Exactly. This thread is why they are doing it. Starbucks won't want the bad press of being associated with a robbery or a wrongful death. That means Settlement.

Well, her boyfriend IS Gay...