A German tourist’s attempt to seek $100,000 in damages from a New York City taqueria whose sauce he found too spicy 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 Los Tacos No 1 location in Times Square.
Manz maintained that he bought three tacos there and then took advantage of deals at the restaurant’s self-service salsa bar.
“Because I had no idea how dangerous these sauces could be or what ingredients were put in them, I began putting many of these sauces inside my tacos,” Manz wrote in the document.
He alleged that he experienced unpleasant symptoms after eating the tacos, including burning in his mouth and tongue, increased heart rate, nausea and blisters on his tongue. Manz said he then returned to his hotel, where he took medication for diarrhea, acid reflux and stomach cramps.
“There was absolutely no warning,” he wrote in his complaint, in which he mentions that he has a history of gastrointestinal problems and generally avoids spicy foods.
But in mid-February, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho dismissed Manz’s case, writing that plaintiff’s “claims fail as a matter of law.”
“Mr. Manz has not filed a claim that Los Tacos negligently served excessively spicy sauce at the Times Square location,” the judge wrote.
Ho noted that Manz had not shown that he could not obtain information about the spiciness level of the sauce 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 further noted that Manz acknowledged that he was “particularly predisposed to spice-related ailments” and normally avoids them.
“A reasonable person with Mr. Manz’s characteristics could have easily discovered that the sauce 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 sauce, spiciness is usually the point.”
Court records show that Manz filed several other lawsuits related to his August 2024 trip to the United States.
One seeking $10 million accused a New Jersey Walmart of discrimination because its Wi-Fi access required a U.S. phone number. He also demanded another $10 million from New York City police for their response to a street assault complaint.
The Walmart case was also dismissed. And last week he dropped the lawsuit related to the police response, according to the New York Times.
