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."
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.
I heard it from a very reliable source that OHarra and Righetti think that the judge is purposely moving at a snails pace.
Snail sucking snivelers!
Ialway said I would never eat snail, but one time I was nagged into trying them in the shell, they are delicious..
It was for my niece's wedding, after the big hall wedding, about 50 people were invited to my sister home...They spent a lot of time on their boat and knew a few of the guys that ran the oyster boats. They were invited back home and brought a large bushel basket of fresh oysters with them.
The guy sat in the back yard shucking them and I walked around serving them on a platter. really yummy..the juices in the shell were tasty, just throw back your head and slurp them down...I only staggered a little...bumped into a couple of walls, but stayed on my feet....
LOL for the first one you need to be partially drunk....after that they are fine....;O0 BUT MUST BE FRESH.. during certain months they will kill you..try it, you’ll like it...then post your opinion....
They don’t look like snails after being cooked (fried or sautee’d I think) then put back in the shell, you take them out of the shell with a little fork and dip in butter....very good, try one, you’ll like it...:O)
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