Stanley Cup Burn Lawsuit: The Recalled Travel Mugs

The Recall

In December 2024, Stanley’s maker, Pacific Market International (PMI), recalled about 2.6 million Switchback and Trigger Action travel mugs in the US. The problem was the lid: under heat and pressure, the lid’s threads could shrink, causing the lid to detach unexpectedly during use. If the mug held a hot drink, a detaching lid could spill scalding liquid onto the user. Regulators reported dozens of incidents of lids detaching and a number of burn injuries. (This travel-mug recall is separate from the well-known Stanley Quencher tumblers, though the brand also faced distinct, separate allegations about lead used in the sealing base of some products.)

A burn hazard from a mug people carry every day, often full of hot coffee, is exactly the kind of defect that prompts a recall.

The Litigation

A class-action lawsuit followed the recall, focused less on the defect itself than on how PMI handled it. The suit alleged the company refused straightforward refunds to affected customers, instead offering replacement lids that plaintiffs called inferior, leaving buyers stuck with a product they no longer trusted. Some versions of the litigation also raised the separate lead-in-the-base concern. The recall gives owners a remedy path, while the lawsuit seeks broader compensation for how customers were treated.

As with many recalls, the recall itself does not resolve individual injury or consumer claims.

What Owners Should Know

If you own a recalled Switchback or Trigger Action Stanley travel mug, stop using it with hot liquids and follow the official recall instructions to get the remedy PMI is offering. Keep your proof of purchase and any records if you were burned. More broadly, check current recall notices for the exact models affected, since the recall covers specific mugs, not every Stanley product.