I received an email this morning from a public relations firm employed by McDonalds. They wanted to let me know that beginning March 28, the restaurants throughout Western New York will be offering patrons a free small coffee from 5 am until Midnight. Though I'm not a coffee drinker myself, this release caught my eye because it took me back to one of the more memorable lawsuits in recent history.

If you think McDonald's and lawsuit, you might conjure up memories of the various lawsuits filed against the maker of the Big Mac for allegedly creating obese people. In several suits, parents of young, grossly overweight children claimed McDonalds was to blame for their child's medical condition. I could write all day on the frivolous and ignorant stupidity of those suits, to my knowledge all of which have been dismissed by the courts, but instead I want to keep the focus on coffee.

Though the name Stella Liebeck probably doesn't ring a bell, if I said, "Remember the lady who sued McDonalds and won millions after she spilled a cup of coffee on herself," you would likely recall what became known around the world as the "McDonalds coffee lawsuit."

Without rehashing the entire case, here is the skinny:

• 79-year-old woman purchases a coffee at a McDonalds Drive-Thru.

• Opens the lid to add creme and dumps the coffee into her lap, where it is quickly absorbed in her pants that stick to her legs.

• Stella suffers third-degree burns to some very sensitive parts of her body and spends more than a week in the hospital, where she receives skin grafts for her burns.

• McDonalds offers her 800 bucks for her troubles. Not a bad return on a 49 cent cup of coffee, were it not for the skin grafts and all.

After Stella lawyers up, things get interesting. A jury ultimately awards her $2.86 million in damages. This is where the talking heads went nuts over the excessive verdict, the need for tort reform, the irresponsible woman who can't hold a coffee and then wants millions.

According to her lawyer at the time, Stella only asked for $20,000 to cover the medical bills. It was the french fry king's counter offer of 800 bucks that drove her to sue. At the time, McDonalds sold more than a million cups of coffee every day. Seems like 20 grand might have been a bargain.

Contrary to people thinking Stella became a wealthy woman, the award was reduced, then appealed, and she ultimately settled for somewhere in the neighborhood of $600,000. Figure a third of that for lawyers, plus expenses, and I'd let Grimace and the gang keep their money and I'd keep my original skin.

In fairness to McDonalds, back to the free coffee grab. The company is donating a penny from each free coffee given away, to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western New York. If you aren't familiar, the Ronald McDonald House offers out-of-town families a place to stay while they have sick children in a local hospital. It is an amazing program that fills a need in the community that might otherwise fall by the wayside.

However, last year, with roughly 300,000 cups of coffee given away during the promotion, that amounts to a mere $3,000 for a program (Ronald McDonald House) that operates on an annual budget of $500,000.

Though it was tough to nail down an exact number, various reports claim McDonalds sells between 2 million and 10 million cups of coffee EVERYDAY. Seems like they could have spared more than a penny a cup considering it is going to the house that bears its name.

Especially if you consider that coffee is absolutely dirt cheap to sell (or give away), and a high percentage of customers will make another purchase while there for their free coffee. In retail, the term is called a loss leader. Lose money to get them in the door, then make it up while they are there.

The hook line in the press releases that I should go get a coffee because I would be helping Ronald McDonald House seems a bit disingenuous. My visit will net the house a penny, and Ronald himself will reap the profits of whatever other purchases I make while I am there. But I digress. Let's not lose sight of the free coffee!

Get ready to enjoy 14 days of gratis java ... just be sure to ask them to put the cream in for you.