US judge dismisses $100,000 suit over spiciness of New York taqueria’s sauce

A German tourist’s attempt to pursue $100,000 in damages from a New York City taqueria whose salsa he found to be too spicy has failed after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.In a complaint filed in October 2024, German national Faycal Manz said he was visiting New York City two months earlier when he stopped at the Times Square location of Los Tacos No 1.Manz maintained that he bought three tacos there and then availed himself of the offerings at the restaurant’s self-service salsa bar.“As I had no idea how dangerous these sauces could be or which ingredients are put in the sauces, I started putting a lot of these sauces inside my tacos,” Manz wrote in the filing.He alleged that he experienced unpleasant symptoms after eating the tacos, including burning in his mouth and tongue, an increased heart rate, nausea and tongue blisters. Manz said he later returned to his hotel, where he took medication for diarrhea, acid reflux and stomach cramps.“There were absolutely no warnings at all,” he wrote in his complaint, which mentioned that he has history of gastrointestinal problems and generally avoids spicy foods.But in mid-February, US district judge Dale Ho dismissed Manz’s case, writing that the plaintiff’s “claims fail as a matter of law”.“Mr Manz has failed to state a claim that Los Tacos negligently served excessively spicy salsa at the Times Square location,” the judge wrote.Ho noted that Manz had not shown that he was unable to obtain information about the salsa’s spice level before eating it.“Manz admits that he never asked anyone, whether a customer or a Los Tacos employee, about the contents of the salsa bar before putting a large amount on each of his tacos,” Ho wrote.The judge furthermore noted that Manz acknowledged that he was “particularly predisposed to spice-related ailments” and typically avoids them.“A reasonable person with Mr Manz’s characteristics could have easily discovered that the salsa at Los Tacos was spicy,” Ho wrote.Ho alluded to how Los Tacos argued that Mexican food – and more specifically salsa – “is often spicy”.“In fact,” Ho added, “when it comes to salsa, the spice is often the point.”Court records show that Manz filed several other lawsuits related to his August 2024 trip to the US.One seeking $10m accused a New Jersey Walmart of discrimination because its wifi login required a US phone number. He also demanded another $10m from New York City Police over their response to a reported street assault.The Walmart case was dismissed, too. And last week he dropped the lawsuit involving the police response, according to the New York Times.