WESTHAMPTON, N.J. – A diner who sued Applebee’s after burning his face on a platter of fajitas got his lawsuit tossed out by an appellate court in New Jersey.
Hiram Jimenez filed a lawsuit in 2010 after bowing his head in prayer only to burn his face on the sizzling meat at Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Westhampton, N.J., near Philadelphia.
He sought damages against the Apple American Group, the franchisee that owns and operates the restaurant, according to Applebee’s.
But an appellate court judge wasn’t buying Jimenez’ claim that restaurant workers failed to adequately warn him of the hazards of the sizzling fajitas, on the basis that the dangers were “self-evident.”
A lawyer for Jimenez, Richard Weiner of Conshohocken, did not return messages from CNNMoney.
The suit brings to mind various high-profile lawsuits versus restaurants.
An Albuquerque woman successfully sued McDonald’s in 1992 after getting severely burned by coffee.
A Las Vegas woman was less successful in her 2005 lawsuit versus Wendy’s after finding a severed finger in her chili, because police determined it was a hoax.
