Posted on 12/16/2010 8:30:43 AM PST by SmithL
Two men who claimed they were scalded by "exploding" escargot at a San Rafael restaurant have been served a court ruling nearly as scathing.
Judge Roy Chernus dismissed "with prejudice" a negligence lawsuit filed by Chadwick St.-OHarra and Steve Righetti, who claimed their snails ruptured at Seafood Peddler last June, splattering their faces and shirts with hot garlic butter.
St.-OHarra also accused restaurant staff of "indifference" and "friggin' rudeness" in the immediate aftermath.
After the restaurant's insurer rejected their claim, the men sued for a $7,500 judgment for alleged negligence, pain and suffering. The defendants were Richard Mayfield and Manuel Camacho, two supervisors at the restaurant.
Chernus heard the case in a small claims trial on Dec. 3 and mailed his decision to the defendants this week. The two-page decision, laced with legal precedent and Latin jargon, said St.-OHarra and Righetti failed to meet their burden of proof.
Citing the case of Mexicali Rose v. Superior Court -- a 1992 California Supreme Court decision concerning a chicken bone found in a restaurant enchilada -- Chernus said there is a "reasonable expectation of the presence and, thus potential personal injury, due to hot grease in orders of escargot which are prepared and served with 'hot garlic butter.'"
Moreover, Chernus noted, Righetti watched a snail burst when St.-OHarra stuck a cocktail fork in -- then did the same thing Advertisement himself, with precisely the same result.
"There was absolutely no evidence whatsoever on what caused the escargot to spontaneously splatter grease upon being touched by the plaintiffs," Chernus wrote. "There was no evidence that Seafood Peddler did not exercise reasonable care in the preparation or service of the escargot."
"As unfortunate as it was for plaintiffs being splattered with hot grease, they are not entitled to a judgment against defendant as no breach of duty was established by the evidence presented," the judge concluded.
St.-OHarra, 59, of Danville, and Righetti, a 59-year-old Sonoma resident, said they were still waiting to see the ruling Wednesday.
At Seafood Peddler, which has reported a surge in escargot sales since the lawsuit became international news, owner Al Silvestri said the decision feels "good."
"That's what I thought it was gonna be anyway," he said. "I wasn't surprised."
Now I’m hungry for some escargot, thanks! :(
True. Escargot sales had been rather sluggish until this lawsuit made the headlines.
Regards,
Reading between the lines, the moral of the story is: If a well-connected gay couple dining at your establishment have a boo-boo make a big ol’ fuss over them and soothe their bruised egos.
This is a very jolly story. You have to wonder about someone named “Chadwick St-Oharra.” Could that be the name his parents chose for him. But here is a picture of the lovely couple.
http://www.marinij.com/business/ci_16598498
Wazzat? A new kind of car? An “Ess” car, go?
"Waiter....there are snails on her plate....You would think that in a fancy restaurant at these prices you could keep the snails off the food! There are so many snails there you can't even see the food! Now take those away and bring us those melted cheese sandwich appetizers you talked me out of!"
where was this judge for the mcdonalds coffee suit?
I’ve checked with catholic.org and I can’t find an entry for “St Oharra” in the listing of official saints.
(Maybe he’s one of those New Orleans Saints I’ve been hearing about.)
Resisting the urge to make a tasteless comment.
"I'm ready to buy. But on one condition. Can you take the "z" off the car's logo and replace it with a "s" on the car? I'll pay full price if you can."
The sales guy is a bit curious and asks why.
The snail says - "Because all my friends will stop and look when I drive by and say -- (wait for it) --- "Hey! Look at that es-car-go!!"
That’s what actually happened, jokes aside.
“You would think that in a fancy restaurant at these prices you could keep the snails off the food!”
Anthony Bourdain mentioned this potential hazard for the cooks as well on one of his shows.
St Oharra is apparently the patron of middle-aged men who like other middle aged men and who are attacked by exploding escargot. I imagine him pierced through with snail shell shards, something like the martyrdom of St. Sebastian with the arrows.
What were they eating,....molluscs with garlic and butter
to make them taste good? Next time, get some garlic and butter
and dip some rich crusty bread into it...it won’t explode
in yo’ face and its lots cheaper! I guess these are the
guys Phil Hendries character “Steve Bozell” is based on.
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