Carly Simon spills hot coffee on Starbucks label

By Eriq Gardner

What stings more — hot coffee or a cold music label?

Almost everybody knows the story of the 79-year-old woman who once sued McDonald's after purchasing a very hot cup of coffee that caused third-degree burns. 

Now there's Carly Simon's lawsuit against Starbucks for withdrawing involvement in the company's music label, Hear Music, just five days before the singer's album was due to come out.

Here's the complaint filed in California Superior Court, which according to the NY Times, Starbucks hasn't yet seen.

The lawsuit claims that Hear Music delivered a marketing plan to Simon that confirmed that her album, This Kind of Love, would be extensively marketed and distributed at Starbucks locations in the US and in Canada. But Simon says that Starbucks decided to withdraw from Hear Music with no prior notice to her. As a result of Starbucks' withdrawal, all of the individuals responsible for promoting Simon's album were fired and Simon became signed to Concord Music, which "had none of the assets that constituted the reason for Ms. Simon's decision" to sign with Hear Music.

The singer is suing for deceit, tortious interference and unfair business practices. The lawsuit seem to us to be a little bit of a stretch, but Simon has hired very expensive lawyers at Boies Schiller & Flexner to handle this dispute.