Court: Restaurant can be sued for serving meat to Hindu patrons

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger


http://i.imgur.com/IxS91.jpg

EDISON — A group of Hindu residents can sue an Edison restaurant for money to travel to India, where they say they must purify their souls after eating meat, a state appellate court panel ruled Monday.

The decision by the three-judge panel reinstates a lawsuit filed against Moghul Express, the restaurant that admitted it accidentally served meat-filled pastries to 16 Hindus whose religion forbids them from eating nonvegetarian food.

The diners said the mix-up has harmed them spiritually and monetarily, and that to cleanse themselves of their sin — even though it was committed unknowingly — they must participate in a purification ritual in India’s Ganges River.

"If you follow the scriptures, it’s definitely a huge cost," said Mehul Thakkar, a spokesman for the Yogi Divine Society in Lake Hiawatha, a nonprofit socio-religious organization that adheres to the principles of the Swaminarayan faith of Hinduism. "If they are very strict about it, there definitely is a fee involved."

Thakkar, whose organization is not involved in the suit, declined to comment on the decision issued by Judges Dorothea Wefing, Edith Payne and Margaret Hayden.

He said the purification ceremony can last from three to 30 days, and that the cost of the trip, which can add up to thousands of dollars, is based on how much a participant can afford.

Hinduism, the third largest religion in the world and which is dominant in the Indian subcontinent, holds that meat consumption affects the purity of the soul and that those who eat meat cannot be with God after death.

Pradip (Peter) Kothari, president of the Indo-American Cultural Society in Edison, said he was unaware of the lawsuit but said he thought it should have been dismissed.

"This is a hypocrisy of religion and a hypocrisy of the law," said Kothari, who conceded that he does not strictly observe the Hindu religion. "They can go to a temple here and ask God for forgiveness. God is not going to punish you for doing something unknowingly."

For an India Day celebration in Edison on Aug. 10, 2009, the group placed an order for vegetarian samosas. The restaurant assured them it didn’t make the pastries with meat. Indeed, there was no meat-filled samosa on the restaurant’s appetizer menu, and the court’s decision said the tray of pastries given to the group was labeled vegetarian.

But soon after eating a few samosas, some in the group grew concerned the pastries might contain meat. According to the decision, the restaurant eventually acknowledged it had confused the order with one for meat-filled samosas and gave the group the non-vegetarian pastries.

The diners sued in Superior Court, alleging negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, consumer fraud, products liability and breach of express warranty. But the judge dismissed the allegations last year, and the diners appealed.

The appellate panel said Monday that the case could still go forward as breach of express warranty claim because of the restaurant’s assurance that the group was getting vegetarian samosas.

K. Raja Bhattacharya, the lawyer for the diners, and David Novack, an attorney for the restaurant, both declined to comment while the case is pending.

[AntZ]

There was a similar case some years back when some dick head insisted that Taco Bell fly him back to India for "purification" after he found meat in something.


This is an incredible crock of shit!!!!! if they are so worried about eating meat, then it's the buyers responsibility to check their food! FUCK THEM!!

[AntZ]

Hindu Sues for Wrongly Being Served a Beef Burrito


January 24, 1998|HILARY MacGREGOR | TIMES STAFF WRITER



A devout Hindu living in Oxnard is suing a Ventura Taco Bell for serving him a beef burrito rather than the bean burrito he ordered.

That one bite of beef violated Mukesh K. Rai's most fundamental religious principle, causing him emotional distress, as well as medical expenses and loss of wages, he claimed in his suit filed this week.

"Eating the cow, it was a really devastating experience," said Rai, reached at his home Friday. "So much so that I had to go to a psychiatrist. I went to a doctor. I couldn't sleep."

Indeed, Rai said he has already had to travel to England to perform a religious purification ceremony with Hindu masters.

And in March he will travel to India for the ultimate purification: bathing in the waters of the Ganges River.

Rai wants the restaurant chain to pay for his pilgrimage, as well as his other costs. Taco Bell officials would not comment on the suit filed in Ventura County Superior Court.

According to the complaint, Rai ordered a bean burrito from the Taco Bell across from Ventura High School on April 27.

"He clearly repeated the order twice so that he would be ensured of not receiving a burrito with meat," the suit states.

"When he received his order he took a bite, and after chewing it he realized to his horror that it was a meat burrito," the complaint continued.

His Santa Barbara-based lawyer, Joel Crosby, said the case has larger implications.

"Although we don't have a large Hindu population, we do have a lot of vegetarians," Crosby said.

Taco Bell, he said, should take the suit very seriously.

"What about the mental impact here?" Crosby said. "This is the equivalent of eating his ancestors."

Rai, who runs the pharmacy at the Thrifty Payless in Carpinteria, says he has suffered great anguish as a result of the Taco Bell incident.

But what really galls him is that after he bit into the beef burrito, Taco Bell refused to give him a refund.

Indeed, although they offered to exchange it for a bean burrito, they would not pay him the difference in price between the more expensive beef burrito, and the cheaper bean one, he said.

"They say, 'What's the big deal? You ate meat,' " Rai said.

But it is a very big deal for Rai.

In India the cow is a sacred animal, considered a mother to everyone, he said. Most Hindu prayers end by giving reverence to various gods, and the cow, he added.

Rai said Taco Bell initially showed interest in addressing his concerns, but so far has taken no action.

"I'm a minority," he said. "They continue to treat this as a trivial thing, but Indians are about a billion of the world's population, and about 80% to 90% of them are Hindus."


http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/24/local/me-11551

[Southern Belle]

If he'd go back to India for good, he wouldn't have this problem. Just saying....

[Southern Belle]

I'm gluten intolerant and I try to order foods that won't affect me but sometimes I or the restaurant makes a mistake.
I take that risk every time I eat out, especially at fast food restaurants.
Suck it up Patel.

[AntZ]

I'm gluten intolerant and I try to order foods that won't affect me but sometimes I or the restaurant makes a mistake.
I take that risk every time I eat out, especially at fast food restaurants.
Suck it up Patel.

Exactly!

It's like the people with the serious peanut allergies, in the past if kids or adults had it, they would only eat food that they prepare to be sure. Now, all peanuts are BANNED from schools so little Suzy or Timmy can eat in the school cafeteria if they want without fear. And peanuts are BANNED at some public restaurants and on ALL airlines now so people can let others suffer because of their unique problem.

If there is some allergy, personal dislike, or religious dogma to a food or substance, IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO AVOID IT! Not the worlds job to protect you!

[Foxdana]

They did their best to avoid meat, they were told by staff they were avoiding meat and it was labelled vegetarian. The restaurant does have some responsibilty here.

[FBD]

Obviously it was their karma to eat a small portion of meat and be prevented from seeing god. Better luck next round!