Dunkin’ hot tea spill deprives NJ man of wife’s ‘companionship’, lawsuit says

☕ A woman claims a hot tea spill at a North Jersey Dunkin' caused severe burns

☕ Her husband is also a plaintiff in the suit as he lost the 'services and companionship' of his wife

☕ Spill lawsuits against NJ Dunkin' stores continue to pile up

EAST ORANGE — An Essex County couple claims that the husband and wife both suffered from a hot tea spill at a Dunkin' drive-thru in the fall.

Macdalie Jean-Baptiste suffered severe burns from the spill at the Dunkin' on the corner of Halsted Street and Central Avenue in East Orange, according to a lawsuit filed in Essex County Superior Court last month.

Jean-Baptiste went through the drive-thru and ordered three cups of hot tea on Sept. 25, the suit said. The cups were placed in a carrier and handed to her through the drive-thru window.

The hot tea spilled onto Jean-Baptiste, according to the lawsuit. Court documents claim the tea was too hot, the lids were not on tightly enough, and the cups were not secure in the carrier.

She was left with "severe and permanent injuries" that required medical treatment, the suit stated.

Her husband, Dale Blackwood, is also a named plaintiff in the lawsuit. It stated he was "deprived of the society, services and companionship of his wife."

The lawsuit demands a jury trial and damages including attorney fees.

Hot spill lawsuits against Dunkin' locations in New Jersey have become increasingly common in recent years.

Another lawsuit filed in early April claimed that a Dunkin' worker spilled a tray of hot coffees onto a Bayonne man. He accused the workers of heating the coffee to "dangerously" high temperatures.

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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