Judge To Rule Soon In San Rafael Exploding Escargot Lawsuit
SAN RAFAEL (CBS 5) -– A Marin County Superior Court judge said Friday he would rule in about two weeks in the case of two San Rafael restaurant patrons who sued for damages after claiming their escargot appetizer exploded recently.
Chadwick St. Oharra, a 59-year-old information technology executive and Danville resident, and Steve Righetti, a San Rafael businessman who lives in Sonoma, are seeking $7,500 and an apology from The Seafood Peddler Restaurant.
"We each reported to (the restaurant management) that we had been scalded on our faces by the escargot, exploding and spraying our faces and clothing with hot grease as soon as we started to eat," St. Oharra told Judge Roy O. Chernus during a small claims court hearing Friday afternoon.
But the restaurant maintained before the judge that there was nothing wrong with the popular snail dish served to the pair.
"They sat there for an hour and a half and continued on with their meal so, this scalding, I can't see where they were so scalded and scared that they could sit there and endure an entire meal," said the Seafood Peddler's general manager, Richard Mayfield.
An insurance claim against the restaurant was also denied, in part, because neither man sought medical attention.
"I'll take this matter into submission and you will get a decision in two weeks," Judge Chernus told the two sides following the hearing.
Meanwhile, Mayfield also said Friday that the restaurant has seen its' escargot sales sizzle -- roughly doubling following word of the lawsuit.
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