Salty Claim Against Denny’s Doesn’t Float in Court

As you may remember, New Jersey’s Consumer “Fraud” Act is so broadly constructed that a Tinton Falls resident was able to sue the Denny’s restaurant chain last year, claiming that he (and the public at large) had no idea his favorite “Moons over my hammy” dish was “loaded up with the salt.”  Plaintiff Nick DeBenedetto argued that it amounted to consumer fraud (in the State of New Jersey, at least).  He was being treated for hypertension, after all.  An advocacy group and local attorneys adopted the cause on behalf of Denny’s patrons, unsuspecting or not, in a class action lawsuit.    

Fortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed.  And a state court of appeals upheld this decision, according to a report by Ken Serrano in The Home News Tribune.

“Neither plaintiff nor the punitive class he claimed to represent asserted any physical injury or harm as a result of defendant’s failure to disclose the sodium content,” the court said in its decision.  DeBenedetto will not be permitted to sue under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, but he may be able to pursue an action under the Products Liability Act. 

Commentary suggested that the plaintiff reimburse Denny’s for the costs it incurred.  Unfortunately, history suggests that honest consumers are usually the ones who end up bearing these costs.  Real consumer protection doesn’t mean more ways to sue – it means keeping junk litigation like this out of the civil justice system.