A Portland-based coffee brand is facing a federal lawsuit after a flight attendant says she was severely burned when its coffee packaging catastrophically failed aboard an Alaska Airlines flight, with court documents alleging the incidents had occurred repeatedly before her injury.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, was brought on behalf of Victoria Waldron by the Choate Law Firm. Waldron says she was burned on an Alaska Airlines flight approximately 30 minutes before landing in Phoenix on 1 April 2024, when an onboard coffee maker failed in the galley. She was pregnant at the time. The burns affected her chest and several other areas of her body, and she says she has suffered permanent scarring since the incident, ongoing emotional distress, and may require further surgery.
According to court documents, at least nine other flight attendants had been burned in similar incidents before Waldron’s injury. The Association of Flight Attendants union and Waldron’s attorneys allege Stumptown Coffee failed to design, test, or validate its packaging for use at high altitudes. “When the packaging interacted with the existing onboard coffee makers, the result was explosive failure and serious injury,” the lawsuit states. The suit further alleges that Alaska Airlines notified Stumptown of the complaints no later than 20 February 2024 and that the company failed to take corrective action.
Alaska Airlines and Stumptown announced their partnership in October 2023, replacing Starbucks as the carrier’s onboard coffee brand. The lawsuit notes that prior to December 2023, Alaska served Starbucks coffee without similar reported issues.
The suit does not specify a monetary amount but requests a jury trial and seeks damages covering physical pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, medical expenses, and lost earnings.
