Courts

Man Burned By Hot Sauce's Point Of Origin Sues Company For False Advertisement

My only prayer is that this goes to the Supreme Court and produces another The Onion™ level brief.

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Texas map icon. Vector illustrationTexas is known for many things. An abnormally aggressive anti-littering campaign, formerly being part of Mexico, and being the homeland of one of the most well known animated squirrels in human history. It is also known for its barbecue and hot sauce. So known in fact, a Californian is willing to go to court to gatekeep on its behalf.

A man has filed a class action lawsuit against Texas Pete hot sauce after he learned the product isn’t actually made in Texas. Instead, the product is made in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which the lawsuit claims is false advertising.

When California resident Philip White purchased a bottle of Texas Pete at a Ralph’s supermarket in September 2021, he believed it was made in Texas, according to the complaint, filed by The Clarkson Law Firm on behalf of White on Sept. 12. in Los Angeles federal court.

The lawsuit said White wouldn’t have bought the Louisiana-style hot sauce, or would not have paid as much for it if he knew its origin.

For context, a bottle of the stuff costs a whopping $6 dollars on Amazon. Granted, this price may be an east coaster exclusive. The cost of groceries in California is noticeably higher, but not enough to skip over the fact that this guy is going to court over what most Tesla drivers — and I assume most Californians are Tesla drivers at this point —consider pocket change.

The complaint alleges the makers knowingly “capitalized on consumers” desire to partake in the culture and authentic cuisine of one of the most prideful states in America.”

This, of course, is the most ludicrous part of the complaint. Everyone knows that if you really want to participate in Texas’ culture, you have to experience the wide open skies, barbecue, and pecan pie.

As a remedy, the complaint asks for damages and for a change to the companies name and branding. The first part seems reasonable enough — maybe sending the guy 6 bucks or a bottle of Miso Ghost Pepper would do the trick if this gets downgraded to mediation. But the latter screams of the legal team that was salty Red Bull didn’t actually let you do a really good Icarus costume come Halloween.

While it ultimately may be true that Texas Pete’s branding “ultimately hurts smaller companies in Texas and “lawful competitors” that are trying to capitalize on the authenticity of their Texas hot sauce”, it is hard for me to see how he as a Californian has standing. This really all could have been resolved if he just read the damned bottle.

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Texas Pete Hot Sauce Hit With False Advertising Lawsuit Because It Is Made In North Carolina [ABC]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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