The Stella Awards are awards given to people who file outrageous and frivolous lawsuits

Frivolous litigation

In law, frivolous litigation is the practice of starting or carrying on law suits that, due to their lack of legal merit, have little to no chance of being won. The term does not include cases that may be lost due to other matters not related to legal merit...

, named after Stella Liebeck who, in 1992, ordered a cup of McDonald's

McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

 coffee at a drive thru, took off the lid and put it in between her knees while sitting in the passenger seat of her grandson's car. The 180 to 190 °F (82.2 to 87.8 C) coffee spilled from the cup, causing third degree burns

Burn (injury)

A burn is a type of injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation or friction. Most burns affect only the skin . Rarely, deeper tissues, such as muscle, bone, and blood vessels can also be injured...

. The lawsuits are documented by Colorado writer Randy Cassingham. Cassingham documents the awards on a website and in a 2005 book, both known as The True Stella Awards. There are also a number of false Stella Awards circulating on the Internet.