P.F. Chang’s ‘Krab Mix’ Class Action Lawsuit Revived in Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit is bringing back a class action lawsuit against P.F. Chang’s “krab mix” and its alleged lack of real crab.  

Chansue Kang has been fighting since 2015 over P.F. Chang’s “krab mix,” arguing that the Arizona-based restaurant chain misleads customers because the product doesn’t contain any actual crab. 

In a 2-1 opinion released Tuesday, the panel of judges reversed a dismissal by a lower court, reviving the class action lawsuit. 

The judges who voted to have the lawsuit remanded wrote that reasonable diners could take the term “krab mix” to mean a combination of both authentic and imitation crab. 

P.F. Chang’s uses its so-called “krab mix” in sushi rolls, Kang says, and uses the term to describe dishes on menus.

Kang says customers are deceived because they expect real crab meat in these sushi rolls and other dishes with “krab mix” descriptors. 

A California District Court judge dismissed Kang’s complaint in January 2020, siding with P.F. Chang’s.

The restaurant said the term “krab mix” is only on menus, which are not legally considered advertisements under California law. 

In his lone vote against remanding Kang’s class action lawsuit against P.F. Chang’s, Judge Mark Jeremy Bennett said the use of the letter K should be a clue to consumers that the crab isn’t real. 

“’Krab’ with a ‘k’ should be a dead giveaway. Consumers understand that fanciful spellings materially change the meaning of a word. For instance, nobody reasonably thinks that ‘Froot Loops’ contains fruit, and courts have had no trouble dismissing lawsuits claiming otherwise,” he said in his dissenting opinion.

P.F. Chang’s isn’t alone in defending the use of artificial crab in dishes. Benhani, RA Sushi and Haru were named as defendants in a class action lawsuit filed in California District Court in 2019. 

In that case, Benihana moved last May to have the complaint dismissed, citing in part the P.F. Chang’s dismissal. 

Have you ever eaten at P.F. Chang’s? Do you expect real crab to be in your sushi? Let us know what you think of the Ninth Circuit’s decision to keep this class action alive in the comments below. 

The plaintiff is represented by Kenneth H. Yoon, Stephanie E. Yasuda, Brian G. Lee of Yoon Law APC.

The P.F. Chang’s Fake Crab Class Action Lawsuit is Kang v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc., Case No. CV 19-02252 PA (SPx), in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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