Restaurant can be sued after unknowingly serving meat to devout Hindus

[martybegan]

It was struck down by the lower court and they appealed. This is NJ - sue capital of the world. Chanel's crystal ball says the restaurant's insurance company will settle.

I believe NJ is the insurance premium capital of the world as well.

If I were the defendant, I would offer all of them the trip, but with only 1 day in India to peform the ritual, then they have to fly right back. Should eliminate the angle of trying to get a free trip out of the caterer.

That would meet the requirements as they spelled it out in the lawsuit.

That would in all likelihood cost more. But hey, sometimes you have to pay a little extra for spite.

It's not spite, its legal wrangling. I would also be curious to see the competing hindu experts that will inevitably be brought in, one saying they have to go to india to atone, another saying they can do it at a temple in West Orange.

 

[Dr.Drock]

what price does one put on a 'soul'?

Good question, I'd say zero until the existence of a soul can be proven.



I got a double cheeseburger from Mcdonald's the other day and despite my request they still put mustard on it.



Should I call a lawyer and say the mustard seeds damaged my soul and I need a trip to Cancun to make me all better?

 

[chanel]

I hope their papers are in order...

 

[strollingbones]

hindu's believe this....just as jw's believe taking blood will keep them from the kingdom

 

[Sallow]

Edison restaurant can be sued after unknowingly serving meat to devout Hindu customers, appellate court rules | NJ.com

Big deal!

You can sue just about anybody for anything. Talk to me about this if they win.

It was struck down by the lower court and they appealed. This is NJ - sue capital of the world. Chanel's crystal ball says the restaurant's insurance company will settle.

I believe NJ is the insurance premium capital of the world as well.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that the restaurant will be more diligent about this..win or lose.

Which is the intent of these sorts of lawsuits overall.

 

[Dr.Drock]

hindu's believe this....just as jw's believe taking blood will keep them from the kingdom

So we should conform to religious texts?


A lot of religious books say you can kill non-believers, should a court conform to that?

 

[Dr.Drock]

Big deal!

You can sue just about anybody for anything. Talk to me about this if they win.

It was struck down by the lower court and they appealed. This is NJ - sue capital of the world. Chanel's crystal ball says the restaurant's insurance company will settle.

I believe NJ is the insurance premium capital of the world as well.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that the restaurant will be more diligent about this..win or lose.

Which is the intent of these sorts of lawsuits overall.

Yep thanks to this decision you'll see these genius signs popping up all over restaurants

"Food may or may not contain meat."

 

[strollingbones]

hindu's believe this....just as jw's believe taking blood will keep them from the kingdom

So we should conform to religious texts?


A lot of religious books say you can kill non-believers, should a court conform to that?

no but you sure the hell need to conform to a legal contract.....

 

[strollingbones]

this is different from a wrong plate going to a wrong table...this was a catered event.

 

[Dr.Drock]

hindu's believe this....just as jw's believe taking blood will keep them from the kingdom

So we should conform to religious texts?


A lot of religious books say you can kill non-believers, should a court conform to that?

no but you sure the hell need to conform to a legal contract.....

I pushed control+f and did a search for the word cater and didn't find it. I'm not saying you're wrong but I'm not seeing anywhere in the article that this was anything different than just serving someone at a table.

 

[martybegan]

Can Hindu Vegetarians Recover From Restaurant For Alleged Spiritual Injuries Caused By Eating Meat-Filled Snacks When They Had Ordered Vegetarian Snacks? - PorzioAppealLaw

A little more detail.

 

[Dr.Drock]

Can Hindu Vegetarians Recover From Restaurant For Alleged Spiritual Injuries Caused By Eating Meat-Filled Snacks When They Had Ordered Vegetarian Snacks? - PorzioAppealLaw

A little more detail.

Thanks for the link Marty.

In this link I also didn't see anything about catering or a contract.

I agreed with the original decision, here's why (from the link);

In that regard, the CFA requires that the plaintiff prove a “loss of moneys or property[,]” and the court determined that the plaintiffs could not meet that burden. Although the plaintiffs argued that they could because they were seeking damages in the amount it would cost to travel to India for a purification ritual, the court disagreed, noting that “what they are seeking is the cost of cure for an alleged spiritual injury that cannot be categorized as either a loss of moneys or property.”

Sadly the appellate court didn't see it the same way, so now the simple mistake of bringing the wrong order to a table can result in a restaurant having their pants sued off to fix a magical ghost supposedly inside a person. A sad day for common sense.

 

[chanel]

I'm wondering if this will affect homeowners as well. Guess I won't be inviting any Hindus to a barbecue at my house. God forbid my meat flavored pasta sauce destroys their soul.

 

[Avatar4321]

Anyone can be sued. The question is whether the case will be immediately thrown out.

Im wondering what kind of theory they are working on. Im presuming it's a contract law - reliance theory. Though I honestly would not have thought religious costs would be factored into reliance.

 

[daveman]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to ship a barrel of Ganges river water back here?

 

[syrenn]

A group of Hindu residents can sue an Edison restaurant for money to travel to India, where they say they must purify their souls after eating meat, a state appellate court panel ruled today.

The decision by the three-judge panel reinstates a lawsuit filed against Moghul Express, the restaurant that admitted it accidentally served meat-filled pastries to 16 Hindus whose religion forbids them from eating nonvegetarian food.

The diners said the mix-up has harmed them spiritually and monetarily, and that to cleanse themselves of their sin — even though it was committed unknowingly — they must participate in a purification ritual in India’s Ganges River.

Edison restaurant can be sued after unknowingly serving meat to devout Hindu customers, appellate court rules | NJ.com

Nice..a free vacation.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

would you have the same opinion of jews suing for being feed lobster.....dietary laws are taken very seriously by many religions.....just because you do not understand or agree with the religion does not make it cuckoo.....

i think asking for money to go to india is a bit much but i think the cater has some obligations in this matter.

Yes.

Eating in a restaurant means you accept the fact that you might get the wrong thing. I have ordered something and ended up with something else on occasion. I always send it back. They should have inspected the stuff before they ate. If they cannot tell for themselves if something has meat in it they should not eat anything they do not prepare themselves.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

one thing about catering...when you have dietary restrictions in place....you damn well better be paying attention...what if they had served peanuts to a kid who was allergic....oopsie it was just a mistake...when you accept a contract with dietary restrictions you open yourself up to this type of lawsuit for not satisfying the contract.....you do understand there is a broken contract in place?

the clients paid for a service and expected a degree of service...how hard is this.....no meat? i would not have used animal byproducts ...you would go strictly vegan....making sure each ingrediant was vegan....no meat is not that hard..the caterer did not use the lowest degree of caution.

You might have a case for breach of contract if that is what happened. They went to a restaurant and were served from the regular menu. Somebody screwed up, and even the Hindus that were interviewed for the story thought this was nothing more than a shakedown.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

what price does one put on a 'soul'?

Since the actual price of the "treatment" depends on what the people can afford they do not need to sue for damages, they can get it for nothing.

 

[martybegan]

one thing about catering...when you have dietary restrictions in place....you damn well better be paying attention...what if they had served peanuts to a kid who was allergic....oopsie it was just a mistake...when you accept a contract with dietary restrictions you open yourself up to this type of lawsuit for not satisfying the contract.....you do understand there is a broken contract in place?

the clients paid for a service and expected a degree of service...how hard is this.....no meat? i would not have used animal byproducts ...you would go strictly vegan....making sure each ingrediant was vegan....no meat is not that hard..the caterer did not use the lowest degree of caution.

You might have a case for breach of contract if that is what happened. They went to a restaurant and were served from the regular menu. Somebody screwed up, and even the Hindus that were interviewed for the story thought this was nothing more than a shakedown.

I would think the best they could sue for materially was the cost of the food. Even then, they accepted a replacement vegetable item right after, which was provided at no extra cost. That shows the vendor tried to make good on the agreed purchase.

I like Daveman's idea of shipping over some ganges water. Would be a good compromise.