A group of Hindus 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 (July 18).
The decision 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 the Ganges River.
“[Thakkar] 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.”
And the local president of the Indo-American Cultural Society said, “They can go to a temple here and ask God for forgiveness. God is not going to punish you for doing something unknowingly.â€
So I wonder whether it’s legitimate religious observance or a way to scam a free trip to visit family.
This poses is an interesting precedent which poses an interesting question.
How do heresies committed within an episcopacy and condoned/participated in by some of its leaders, which involuntarily (by ‘association’) involve others in sin present a case that is pursuable in a civil court?
I think suitable damages should be for orthodox Anglicans to be awarded new churches to worship in and expense paid pilgrimages of atonement to an appropriate shrine anywhere in the world.
The pilgrmages should include should be at least three to six weeks in length in order to achieve adequate cleansing from the sin of ‘association with notorious sinners.’
The court only ruled that the case may proceed with respect to breach of express warranty. The trial court will determine whether the plaintiffs can recover the costs of travel to India if they indeed prevail. For all we know, the plaintiffs at best would get some low multiple (1x to 3x) of the catering cost but not their attorney fees.
Is spiritual harm really legally actionable?
I hope some low-caste Hindus or untouchables will sue this precious lot for the spiritual, emotional and financial harm caused by their caste bigotry.
I don’t know how much they might win in the lawsuit, but suing when something labeled “vegetarian” actually contained meat doesn’t seem out of line. In my state a man sold “gluten-free” bread at the State Fair and made several people really sick because it wasn’t gluten-free. He got a prison sentence.
Ritual cleansing for violations of Hindu protocol, even if unintentional, are not unheard-of. We would never have offered our Hindu friends a nice hamburger to eat, nor offered non-vegetarian food to vegetarians. We had great difficulty convincing them, on the other hand, that asking my husband to make offerings to Hindu idols on ceremonial occasions was similarly offensive.
Are orthodox jews permitted to sue restaurants who fail to separate meat and dairy?
The hindus should do what the jews had to do. Set up their own restaurants that are supervised by religious leaders. We have relatively few Hindus in my neck of the woods, however the local Indian restaurant proudly posts its certificate, indicating that it is the islamic equivalent of kosher, and vegitarian dishes are clearly identified.
I guess the next step would be to sue a school system if their kindergartner was offered a bite of her friends ham sandwich.
People with severe peanut allergies don’t go to Chinese restaurants. People with severe gluten allergies shouldn’t eat at the country fair. People with severe religious prohibitions, should eat at home