Food

Lawsuit of the Day: And Don’t Even Ask About the McNuggets

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rat dead mouse dead died.jpgAs former employees and occasional patrons of McDonald’s, we weren’t exactly “lovin’ it” when we read about this lawsuit:

Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Todd Haley, his wife Christine, and the family’s au pair, Kathryn Kelley, have sued a Southlake, Texas, McDonald’s.

[They allege that] the wife and nanny took home a salad, began to eat it, and discovered one of mankind’s little benefactors lying on its back, eyes open, expired.

Yep, that’s right: they found a dead rat in their salad. So who’s ready for lunch?
Instead of just removing the rat, drizzling on some extra dressing, and forging ahead, the Haleys decided to file a lawsuit:

“Chrissy and Katy have become ill and have been completely shocked,” the suit states. “Chrissy and Katy are so completely repulsed and disgusted with having a rodent in their McDonald’s salad that they now have great difficulty eating any prepared foods. Rather, they now prefer to prepare their foods from scratch…”

We like columnist Jim Gordon’s take on the case:

[E]ven in death, the rat performs a humanitarian service, shocking the women into a healthier way of eating, probably adding years to their lives. How do they respond? By asking McDonald’s to cough up $1.7 million…

[The complaint alleges:] “When the ladies see food, for the most part, they re-live the rodent-in-the-McDonald’s salad horror, and their extreme nausea rises again … A dead rodent in food being eaten causes a distress and trauma level not encountered elsewhere in a dining experience.”

Obviously, Mr. Casterline is not familiar with the dining experience provided by some of our finer Cerrillos Road establishments.

We agree. After all, health inspection reports show that rat droppings are more common than white truffles in the kitchens of America’s top restaurants.
One-point-seven million, for finding a deceased rodent in your salad, strikes us as a bit over-the-top. Maybe they’re entitled to a free large fries. Maybe.
We have previously expressed our disapproval of outsized damage demands in food contamination cases. For $1.7 million, you should actually have to EAT the rat — not just discover it “in food being eaten,” lying there and minding its own business.
$1.7 Million Is a Lot of Lettuce [The Santa-Fe New Mexican]
Earlier: Lawsuit of the Day: Shouldn’t This Be a Class Action?

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Non-Sequiturs: 10.24.06

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* While I was not exactly clued into the significance of 1L year, you know, if it ain’t broke… although I sure am ready for an updated version of Scott Turow’s One L. [Law School Innovation Blog]
* The ACLU may be on to something. My mom still doesn’t know how to use email attachments. [Cookie Magazine]
* Summer associates of 2007, start drawing up your restaurant lists. [New York Times]

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Lawsuit of the Day: Shouldn’t This Be a Class Action?

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omelette eggs.jpgWhenever we visit the Deep South, we make a pilgrimage to the local Waffle House. We confess to a weakness for the chain’s famous “Scattered, Smothered and Covered Hash Browns.”
But now we wonder: What exactly are the hash browns “covered” in?

A police officer has filed a lawsuit against the Waffle House restaurant chain and one of its former cooks, claiming the cook admitted to spitting in the officer’s food.

Police Lt. John Morgan accused 19-year-old Homer Disher in the lawsuit of spitting in his order of hash browns and eggs before serving them to him last September….

Morgan said he thought Disher was upset over a warning he gave Disher and a friend during a traffic stop a few weeks before the incident.

We find in favor of the plaintiff. The defendant cook’s name is “Homer Disher,” so liability is presumed.
Next, the question of damages:

The lawsuit seeks $82,500. In court papers, Morgan said Disher told his manager what he had done and the manager did nothing to warn Morgan or report the incident to police.

Eighty-three grand — and Officer Morgan didn’t even consume the adulterated meal? This strikes us as excessive. If this were “Fear Factor,” he’d at least have to eat the spit-drizzled breakfast to get the money.
Tenn. Police Officer Sues Waffle House [Associated Press]

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Non-Sequiturs: 10.20.06

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cheesesteak public domain photo.jpg* But they’ll still believe what they see on MTV and read on MySpace. [MoJo Blog]
* Creative types, lawyers, and other copyright enforcers get together to fight crime. Coming to a city near you. [Boing Boing]
* Philly cheesesteaks and porn, caught in the crossfire. [QuizLaw]
* Possibly the oldest man in the world (until yesterday) attributes his long life to never cheating or saying anything bad about anyone. He was obviously not a lawyer. Or a blogger. [The Economist]
* For those of you who have been following this tragic, disturbing, local New York story, here is an update. Parents everywhere still wonder whether they would have done the same thing. [Associated Press]

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Non-Sequiturs: 10.17.06

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danish pastries danishes.jpg* Here we go again… If the music industry can turn any old 13-year-old into a pop star, then it can also turn any old 13-year-old into a criminal. [Reuters]
* The Danish have taken the transfat out of their pastries (and everything else). [Associated Press via Drudge Report]
* Indeed, politics aside, who is more retarded in this case — the cops or the ACLU? [May It Please the Court]
* Yet again, Walmart proves that cheap has its price. [The Conglomerate]
* The United States population topped 300 million today at 7.46am EST, but just 39 years ago, the official 200 millionth baby was born, and he ended up a lawyer. (And may we objectively comment that this particular person of Asian heritage really does look young.) [Inside Opinions: Legal Blogs]
* I don’t know much about fair trade, but I know this isn’t it. And yes, I know, much more than chocolate is at stake. [Associated Press]

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Lawyer Kid Anecdotes: The Letter of the Law

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hershey's kisses.JPGSome of you don’t like our Lawyer Kid Anecdotes. But you’re in the minority; our tracking software reveals that these posts are wildly popular. So deal — just as you do when some friend shows you her ugly baby, and you gush over how adorable he is.
Sometimes practicing law is like making it through an obstacle course. You encounter some legal provision that makes it difficult for you to achieve your client’s goal, and your task is to find a way around it. How can you reach the desired outcome for your client, but without running afoul of the law?
Not surprisingly, the children of attorneys have a gift for complying with the letter of the law, even if not its spirit. Consider our next tale:

My four-year-old son, [M], calls his maternal great-grandmother “Chocolate Sue.” Her name is Sue, she loves Hershey’s Kisses, and she loves to give them to him. Well, it got to the point where M was asking Chocolate Sue for Hershey’s Kisses every time he saw her — and as soon as he saw her.

We thought it was getting a bit out of control — that the appropriate greeting for one’s great-grandmother should be a hug, not a request for chocolate. So we told M, “No more asking for chocolates. Wait for Chocolate Sue to offer.” He agreed.

About four months ago, we’re on vacation with my extended family in Sea Island, Georgia. One night, just before M’s bedtime, he comes down to say goodnight. Chocolate Sue, the family matriarch, is sitting on the couch, chatting with four or five other family members.

True to his word, M — then three — doesn’t ask for chocolate. Instead, rubbing his tummy, he declares to the assembled masses: “Mmmm. I am so hungry.”

[Pause for effect.]

“And my favorite color is brown.”

[Another pause, this time accented with longing look toward Choc. Sue.]

To no one’s surprise, he got the chocolate.

Consummating the same transaction as a matter of economic substance, but without running afoul of the law’s technical provisions, literally construed? We think this kid will grow up to be a tax lawyer.
Earlier: Lawyer Kid Anecdotes: Is That a Defined Term?
Lawyer Kid Anecdotes: Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Litigators

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Lawyer Kid Anecdotes: Is That a Defined Term?

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sliced carrots.jpgAnother lawyer kid anecdote, about the same three-year-old daughter of two attorneys who was the subject of our last story.
Here it is:

The other night at dinner, [X] had several carrot pieces on her plate. I told her that she couldn’t have any more pasta until she finished “all those nice big carrots.”

She ate one more carrot piece, then demanded a second serving of pasta. When I pointed out that she hadn’t finished her carrots, she argued that the remaining ones were too small to be considered “big” — and therefore didn’t qualify as carrots she had to eat before getting more pasta.

BRILLIANT. If she doesn’t go into litigation, this kid could grow up to be a great corporate lawyer. Is “big carrot” a defined term? Are the required dimensions or weight of a “big carrot” spelled out anywhere within the contract?
For that kind of genius, give her an entire plate of April Bloomfield’s renowned sheep’s-milk ricotta gnudi. We expect her to ace the LSAT in a few years — by the time she’s in third grade.
Yes, she’s only three years old right now. Scary.
(We’re eager to receive your own lawyer kid anecdotes. Please send ‘em to us by email, subject line: “Lawyer Kid Anecdote.” As always, thanks.)
Earlier: Lawyer Kid Anecdotes: Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Litigators

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The Eyes of the Law: Leading Blawgers at Lunch

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macaroni grill.GIFEarlier today, we noted that prominent legal bloggers Howard Bashman, of How Appealing, and Professor Michael Dimino, of PrawfsBlawg, would be having lunch today.
We expressed interest in the details of their meal. And now we have them, courtesy of a Harrisburg reader:

Bashman and Dimino went to — brace yourselves — the Macaroni Grill. Yes, A3G would probably be appalled. But you have to understand that Harrisburg ain’t exactly New York or Paris on the dining front.

As for what they ate, it looked like Bashman had a Caesar salad. Very virtuous of him. Dimino seemed to be enjoying something more exciting, maybe chicken parmigiana or something.

So there you have it — another exciting day in the life of two law bloggers. Maybe you can use this as a ‘celebrity sighting,’ if you’re having a slow day.

As a matter of fact, we are. So thanks!
Earlier: Morning Docket: 10.10.06

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Lawsuit of the Day: Skimping on the Scampi?

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shrimp and scallop verdura.JPG

Photo and caption from the St. Petersburg Times. We adore the earnestness with which they’re reporting this story.
We’re sorry to be arriving late to the party on this one. So if you’re already familiar with this story, then just skip this post. But if not, read on — it’s well worth your time.
From the St. Petersburg Times (via How Appealing):

Ralph Paul’s story began on March 31 when he and his girlfriend ate at Angellino’s Italian Restaurant in Palm Harbor. Paul ordered the shrimp and scallop verdura.

Since the item wasn’t listed as a pasta dish even though the menu said it came with pasta Paul believed the majority of the dish would be seafood. He said he was surprised to see only five shrimp and five scallops, all of which were “bite-size.”

Paul ate the shrimp and scallops, then poked around the dish for more seafood and, after finding none, asked the server to take the dish back and remove it from his bill.

A manager and owner told Paul he had to pay the entire bill. Paul and his girlfriend believed both were hostile toward them. Paul offered – five times, he said – to pay for some of the $15.99 meal, but the manager and owner demanded full payment.

Paul said he believed the situation was getting heated, so he left a few dollars on the table for a tip, walked briskly out of the restaurant, got into his silver BMW convertible and left. Someone at the restaurant got his tag number and called sheriff’s deputies.

The $46 bill Paul didn’t pay included his girlfriend’s mussels marinara, iced teas, dessert and coffee.

Wow — truth really is stranger than fiction. The Onion couldn’t do better. So what happened next?
Find out, after the jump.

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DFOpalooza: The Farewell Brunch

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o'scannlain brunch 3.JPG

Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain’s current law clerks, a merry band: Vincent Kalafat, from Notre Dame; Rod Forter, from Columbia; Marah Stith, from Yale (blogged about supra); and Father Bill Dailey, from Columbia.
Well, Ninth Circuit and O’Scannlain groupies, we’ve come to the end of the road. This is our last batch of pictures from our delightful weekend in Portland, Oregon, attending DFOpalooza.
After the Friday night reception at the Pioneer Courthouse, and the Saturday night dinner at the Town Club, the weekend concluded with a farewell brunch at the O’Scannlain residence. The weather couldn’t have been better, and many guests sat out on the expansive judicial patio, where they enjoyed wonderful brunch fare (including an amazing artichoke-and-chicken dish that was nothing short of a revelation).
More pictures, after the jump.

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