Model wins $20,000 lawsuit over Church’s chicken pot pie ‘too hot for human consumption’

NewsYolanda Jackson, a business owner and model, won a lawsuit against Church's Chicken after she was burned by a handheld chicken pot pie.(Special to AL.com)By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.comAn Alabama woman has been awarded $20,000 after she was burned when biting into a handheld chicken pot pie from Church’s Chicken. Jefferson County business owner and fashion model Yolanda Jackson initially filed the lawsuit in 2020 against Church’s Chicken, claiming she received burns to her face and chest area after the Midfield restaurant served her chicken that was “too hot for human consumption.”A judge last year dismissed the lawsuit in Church’s favor, but Jackson appealed the ruling. On Wednesday, Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Court Judge David Hobdy ruled in Jackson’s favor following a bench trial and awarded her $20,000 plus court costs. “This was never about money,” said attorney Truman Fitzgerald, who handled Jackson’s appeal pro bono. “The thing she was heartbroken over was that she felt like she was never heard.”“She felt like Church’s never heard in the beginning and never wanted to help her,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t think the case would have even gotten to court had they just given her an ear to express herself.”“She said, ‘they laughed at me, they didn’t believe me, they think I’m just trying to get money out of them,’” the attorney said. “She has visible scars from her burns, and they discounted what she went through.”Attorneys for Church’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Church's handheld chicken pot pie(Jefferson County Court Documents)According to court records, Jackson on Jan. 15, 2020, ordered food through the Church’s drive-thru on Bessemer Super Highway. She ordered two handheld chicken pot pies, chicken “bombers” and a two-piece chicken meal. When she arrived at the window to pay, she was instructed to pull forward because the food was being cooked to order. Jackson waited about eight minutes before an employee delivered her food. The chicken pot pies, records state, were served in a thin, paper sleeve similar to the packaging for French fries or apple pies at other fast-food restaurants.Church’s attorneys said Jackson bit into the pot pie before she ever left the parking lot. The filling “popped” and splattered on various parts of Jackson’s face, lip, chin, chest and left wrist, causing burns, records state. Defense attorneys claimed Jackson did not notify Church’s but instead went to the emergency room. The defense attorneys also claimed that Jackson, as owner, of Meme’s Coffee and Deli in Bessemer, was “no stranger to the restaurant injury” and was aware she was being served food that had been freshly cooked and likely needed to cool down.Fitzgerald said Jackson is happy that her voice was finally heard. She had sought $20,000 in damages and was awarded the full amount.“Ms. Jackson is a paid model,” he said. “The (awarded) damages didn’t stem as much from the injury but from her career and how much she has to pay to cover up her scars.” Carol Robinson is a senior reporter for AL.com, covering crime, public safety and breaking news in more than 30 Alabama counties. She began her journalism career at The Birmingham News in 1986, and has covered...