Carly Simon spills hot coffee on Starbucks label

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - What stings more -- hot coffee or a cold music label?

Almost everybody knows the story of the 79-year-old woman who once sued McDonald's after purchasing a very hot cup of coffee that caused third-degree burns.

Now Carly Simon has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks for withdrawing involvement in the company's music label, Hear Music, just five days before the singer's album was due to come out last year.

The lawsuit claims that Hear Music delivered a marketing plan to Simon that confirmed that her album, "This Kind of Love," would be extensively marketed and distributed at Starbucks locations in the United States and in Canada. But Simon says Starbucks decided to withdraw from Hear Music with no prior notice to her.

As a result of Starbucks' withdrawal, all of the executives responsible for promoting Simon's album were fired and Simon became signed to jazz label Concord Music, which "had none of the assets that constituted the reason for Ms. Simon's decision" to sign with Hear Music.

The singer is suing for deceit, tortious interference and unfair business practices.

(Editing by DGoodman at Reuters)