Fed’l Judge Casts Cold Eye on Lawyer’s ‘Simply Ridiculous’ Shrimp Claim

When Marc Verzani purchased a 16-ounce shrimp platter at Costco in February, the New York lawyer noticed something seemingly a bit fishy.

As further investigation confirmed, the platter—and others like it nationwide—allegedly contained less than one pound of the tasty crustaceans. So Verzani retained an attorney and filed a federal class action over the claimed weight discrepancy.

However, the judge overseeing the case is apparently seeing a different kind of deficiency, according to the New York Post:

"A reasonable consumer would understand that purchasing a ready-to-serve, prepackaged convenience item is different than purchasing shrimp at a fish counter, cocktail sauce in a jar and a lemon at the produce department," writes U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in a ruling refusing a preliminary injunction against Costco in the shrimp claim she describes as "simply ridiculous."

That's because the label clearly "took into account both the shrimp and the sauce, never mind the lemon wedges and lettuce also included in the package," the judge writes.

Verzani plans to appeal the judge's ruling, according to the Post.

The SF Weekly blog provides a link to the March 2009 complaint (PDF), which was filed in the Southern District of New York.

Additional coverage:

Seafood Source: "Costco sued over short-weighted shrimp"

Wallet Pop: "Lawyer loses lawsuit over Costco shrimp, plans to appeal"