Most people have a pretty bad spice tolerance, all things considered. Anything hotter than a mild hot sauce, and people will start coughing and crying. But, apparently for some, things can be spicy enough that spending a lot of dough on a lawsuit feels worth it to them.
As reported by Dexerto, a New York judge has thrown out a lawsuit that alleged a man was injured by salsa that was just "too spicy". German tourist Faycal Manz alleged that the salsa he ate at Manhattan restaurant Los Tacos No. 1 caused real issues. He said that the Mexican delicacy gave him tongue and mouth burns, and stomach problems. The lawsuit said that the restaurant just didn't do enough to warn people about how spicy the sauce was.
But Judge Dale E. Ho settled in favor of the restaurant, throwing out the case. Ho argued that salsa, and Mexican food more generally, was just meant to be spicy. He even said "When it comes to salsa, the spice is often the point." Burn!
Ho also said that Manz didn't bother to ask the staff about the sauce itself. "A quick Google search for 'Mexican food', 'salsa', or even Los Tacos reviews likely would have revealed that salsa can be quite spicy", he wrote. A little harsh and condescending, sure. But is he wrong?
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Not All Lawsuits Are As Crazy As This One
While these food injury lawsuits may all seem like a bit of a joke, some are actually quite serious. A famous lawsuit you've probably heard of is the one where a woman sued McDonald's for spilling hot coffee on herself. It sounds ridiculous, right? But she was actually right to sue; and she won.
As reported by Readers' Digest, Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns (the most severe type of burn) over 16% of her body because of the coffee. She was hospitalized for a week, going under the knife for several skin graft operations because of the incident.
And it turns out that the coffee was given to her at around 190 degrees—way, way too hot. And we know it was serious because the judges ruled in her favor.
