The Bill Miller Bar-B-Q lawsuit that produced a $2.8 million Bexar County jury verdict in January 2025 was brought by a San Antonio woman who suffered second-degree burns when barbecue sauce heated to 189 degrees Fahrenheit spilled onto her thigh at a drive-thru. Two more customers have since filed similar suits over hot-sauce burns, and the chain’s commercial insurer has gone to federal court seeking a ruling that it does not have to pay the verdict.
The Drive-Thru Burn That Started It
On May 19, 2023, nineteen-year-old Genesis Monita ordered breakfast tacos with barbecue sauce at the Bill Miller Bar-B-Q drive-thru at Loop 410 and Old Pearsall Road in San Antonio. Her lawsuit says the sauce was served in a thin plastic cup rather than the sturdier styrofoam container the chain’s own protocols called for. When she took the cup out of the bag it was so hot she dropped it onto her thigh.1News4SA. Woman Seeks $1M in Damages After Burns From Hot Barbeque Sauce at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q
Monita suffered second-degree burns on her upper right thigh. The burn left a permanent scar that later required surgery to remove. She sued in Bexar County District Court in October 2023, alleging the sauce was dangerously hot, the container was inadequate, and she was given no warning.2San Antonio Express-News. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Hot Barbecue Sauce Lawsuit
Why the Jury Found Gross Negligence
The case was tried in Texas’s 225th Civil District Court during the week of January 6, 2025. After closing arguments Friday morning, the jury deliberated less than two hours before finding Bill Miller Bar-B-Q 100 percent negligent and grossly negligent.3Spectrum News. Bill Miller Barbecue Sauce Trial
Temperature was the central issue. Testing showed the sauce Monita received was at 189 degrees Fahrenheit. Bill Miller’s own policy set a minimum serving temperature of 165 degrees, and the defense argued nothing in the policy capped how much higher it could go. Plaintiff’s counsel countered that Texas food-service guidelines cap hot-held sauces at 135 degrees, meaning the sauce was 54 degrees above the state benchmark.4Post-Crescent. Hot Sauce Too Hot to Handle Nets Texas Bill Miller Bar-B-Q a Lawsuit
Jurors also heard that the sauce came in a thin plastic cup instead of the styrofoam container required by company policy, and that no warning about the temperature was given.1News4SA. Woman Seeks $1M in Damages After Burns From Hot Barbeque Sauce at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q
Plaintiff’s attorney Lawrence Morales II introduced evidence of a 2021 incident at the same Old Pearsall Road location, in which another woman burned her abdomen after spilling Bill Miller barbecue sauce. Morales argued the company knew about the danger and did not change how it heated, contained, or labeled the product. “How many more people have to be harmed?” he asked jurors. The defense countered by asking, “What would we have warned Ms. Monita of that she did not already know?”2San Antonio Express-News. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Hot Barbecue Sauce Lawsuit5Law & Crime. Drive-Thru Customer Owed $2.8 Million After Dangerously Hot Barbecue Sauce Caused Serious Burns
How the $2.8 Million Verdict Breaks Down
The jury awarded roughly $2.8 million in total:6FOX 7 Austin. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Lawsuit Burn Hot Sauce
- $900,000 for past and future mental anguish, physical pain, and impairment.
- $25,225 for medical care, including scar-removal surgery.
- $700 for lost earnings.
- $1,890,000 in punitive damages for gross negligence.
What Bill Miller Did After the Verdict
Within weeks, bright yellow circular stickers reading “CAUTION: CONTENTS ARE HOT” began appearing on drive-thru menus and takeout bags at Bill Miller locations, and at sister chain Laguna Madre Seafood Company. By mid-February 2025 the labels covered every panel of the drive-thru menu at the 1604 store on the northeast side of San Antonio.7San Antonio Express-News. Bill Miller Menu Caution Hot Stickers
The company has not said publicly whether the stickers were a response to the verdict. Monita’s attorney said it remained “yet to be seen” whether Bill Miller would also change the sauce temperature or the containers, which were the core of the case. According to court records, Bill Miller has asked a judge to set aside the jury verdict; no ruling on that motion has been reported.8San Antonio Express-News. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Hot Barbecue Sauce Suit
Two More Customers Have Sued
On April 22, 2025, Angelica Ochoa filed suit in Bexar County alleging she suffered second-degree burns on her right leg after barbecue sauce spilled on her at the Bill Miller at O’Connor and Loop 1604 on October 25, 2023. She is seeking more than $1 million in damages.9MySanAntonio. Texas Barbecue Sauce Burns Lawsuit
On May 29, 2025, Rose Roque sued in Bexar County on behalf of her four-year-old son. The complaint says the boy was in line with his grandfather at the Bill Miller at Loop 410 and Culebra Road on May 30, 2024, when an employee placed an uncovered container of barbecue sauce on the grandfather’s tray. The sauce spilled onto the child, including his face, causing second-degree burns and what the suit describes as permanent scarring. Roque is seeking $1 million for medical expenses and physical impairment. Her lawyers say the incidents reflect a “pattern of carelessness” and allege the restaurant withheld surveillance footage from the Culebra Road location.10KSAT. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Faces Third Lawsuit for Dangerously Hot Barbecue Sauce11News4SA. Local Family Sues Bill Millers for $1M After Child Severely Burned by Hot Barbecue Sauce
The Insurer Is Trying to Avoid Paying
On April 7, 2026, Bill Miller’s commercial liability insurer, Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, filed a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking a ruling that it has no duty to defend or pay the Monita verdict. The case is Mt. Hawley Insurance Company v. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-02826.12Insurance Business Magazine. Insurer Fights $2.8 Million BBQ Sauce Burn Verdict Over Insureds Silence
The insurer makes three main arguments. The commercial general liability policy carries a $1 million per-occurrence self-insured retention and, according to Mt. Hawley, required immediate written notice of any claim involving serious burns, punitive damages, or a suit seeking at least half the retention amount. Mt. Hawley says Bill Miller did not report the Monita matter until January 21, 2025, four days after the verdict. It contends that delay prejudiced the insurer, which had no chance to participate in the defense, settlement discussions, or investigation before liability was set. Finally, Mt. Hawley argues the $1.9 million in punitive damages is uninsurable under New York law, which governs the policy through a choice-of-law clause. Mt. Hawley formally disclaimed coverage by letter on March 26, 2025.12Insurance Business Magazine. Insurer Fights $2.8 Million BBQ Sauce Burn Verdict Over Insureds Silence