Stella Awards - The Stella Awards were inspired by Stella Liebeck. In 1992, Stella(79) spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee onto her lap, burning herself. A New Mexico jury awarded her $2.9 million in damages, but that's not the whole story. Ever since, the name 'Stella Award' has been applied to any wild, outrageous, or ridiculous lawsuits -- including bogus cases!