80 Lawsuits Later : What’s changed?
After consulting on over 80 lawsuits and testifying numerous times, Dan Cox remains at the forefront as a leader in hot beverage burn prevention and litigation. His 41 years in the coffee industry built his expertise and knowledge about best practices and industry standards. The Founder and President of Coffee Enterprises, and former Specialty Coffee Association of America President, Dan was already established in the coffee industry, when a friend reached out for help.
HOW IT BEGAN
In 2000, Ted Lingle, Executive Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, reached out to Dan Cox in need of help. Hot beverage spill cases were pouring in, and Ted Lingle needed someone to help carry the load. Knowing his expertise, and experience were desperately needed, Dan heartily agreed. They both worked toward a common purpose, using their knowledge in hot beverage brewing and consumption, to bring understanding to the scientific evidence of the lawsuits they worked. And the cases kept coming.
After Ted Lingle’s retirement, Dan Cox became the country’s leading hot beverage spill consultant. Dan Cox and Associates was created soon after in 2019 with the goal of putting Dan’s years of industry experience to good use and help to prevent hot beverage spills and support his clients in hot beverage spill litigation. Over the 22 years, and 80 cases Dan Cox’s has worked on, what’s changed?
A GROWING NEED
The industry was different
, had gone viral and many people believed in the skewed facts they had heard on the news. It helped to start the increase in litigious coffee lawsuits as more and more people got burned and started suing the restaurant.” Considering how the coffee industry had exploded in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s with the expansion of coffee-based restaurants and cafés, and the increased popularity of hot and cold coffee beverages, coffee drinking was back on the rise. The well-known nature of the Leibeck case, and an influx of coffee drinkers lead to an overload on the court system.
COURTROOM CALM
When it comes to testifying at court or being deposed, Dan knows his strengths. “I know the science and technology involved in the Dan says, “what we know as a cup of coffee or tea”. Dan is the Founder and President of Coffee Enterprises as well, the sister company to Dan Cox & Associates. Since 1992 Coffee Enterprises has been leading independent laboratory specializing in coffee and tea, and has consulted with Dan on lawsuits he’s consulting on. Coffee is part of Dan Cox’s very DNA.
After years in the legal process Dan is well versed in the legal landscape and has a calm demeaner when testifying for depositions, or at trials. His case record stands, having testified at trail multiple times
IT’S ALWAYS THE SCIENCE
Despite changing tastes, or brewing methods, there is always definitive science behind making a great cup of coffee. Dan skills and expertise lay in his knowledge of the process of brewing and serving great hot beverages that he’s learned over his 41 year career, and his ability to relay that understanding to jury in a precise and understandable way. He remarks, “Coffee has developed in amazing ways over the years, with thousands of coffee houses in the US, and new ways to make coffee at home.” Dan Cox has kept up with all the industry change though, and champions the best practices that makes a perfect hot beverage. With his combined experience, and expertise in both the hot beverages industry and the legal process, he is amazing asset to secure for a hot beverage spill litigation.
CONCLUSION
Dan’s takeaway? “I’ve been doing this for since 2000, and will continue to do this as long as I can.” He’s sorry these accidents and burns happen, and sees no end to the hot spill cases that enter our court system every day. Dan Cox is more than happy to step up to the plate, knowing that his years in the coffee industry, and extensive consulting will lend credibility and strength to any hot beverage spill case.
