Frank Morello, a 63-year-old New York man, filed a lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court on Monday after alleging a Delta Air Lines flight attendant spilled scalding coffee on his lap during a JFK-bound flight from Puerto Rico in October 2025. He says the coffee scorched his right leg and left skin that began blistering immediately.
His lawyer, Michael G. LoRusso, said the injury was permanently scarred. Morello seeks an unspecified amount of damages, putting the dispute into the court system while the airline’s response remains absent.
Morello’s October 2025 flight
Morello’s complaint says the coffee was “overheated” and “dangerous.” LoRusso said, “It must have been pretty hot,” and added, “And when you’re serving it, you have to be super careful.” He also said, “It was an accident, yes, I understand that. But he got hurt,” a statement that captures the case’s narrow legal issue: whether the spill was an ordinary mishap or a preventable injury claim.
The filing comes after earlier coffee-injury litigation involving airlines and restaurants, including a July 2025 lawsuit in which Aymara and Giuseppe Corbo sued Scandinavian Airlines for $10 million after hot coffee spilled onto Aymara Corbo’s lap. It also follows the long-known lawsuit brought by Stella Liebeck against McDonald's Restaurants, in which she said a 180- to 190-degree coffee beverage caused third-degree burns and sent her to the hospital for a week.
Queens Supreme Court filing
Morello’s case now asks a court to decide whether the alleged spill created a compensable injury and what damages, if any, belong to him. Delta did not immediately return a request for comment, leaving the complaint as the only public account of how the coffee was served and how the airline will answer the allegation.
For passengers, the practical point is simple: the injury claim is no longer just an in-flight complaint. It is now a lawsuit seeking money damages, and the next move belongs to Delta if it chooses to contest the allegations in court.
