Benihana Seeks Dismissal of Imitation Crab Class Action

Benihana is fighting back against a class action lawsuit claiming the chain restaurant misleads customers into thinking their sushi contains real crab.

To make their case, the company took shots at the customers’ request for clarification on menu listings, and pointed to previous fake crab class action lawsuits thrown out by courts.

According to representatives for Benihana, the customers’ false ad class action lawsuit should be thrown out because the restaurant chain sufficiently alerts consumers to the presence of imitation crab in certain menu items.

The hibachi chain explains that menu items that list crab but contain imitation crab bear a small asterisk next to the word “crab.” Allegedly, the asterisk directs consumers to a small portion of text at the bottom of the menu that says “Kani kama crab & Kani kama crab mix contain imitation crab.”

Based on this disclaimer, Benihana asserts that reasonable consumers would not be misled by the menu, as the customers had claimed. The company also went on to say that the customers’ assertion that this is misleading is nonsensical. 

The Benihana imitation crab meat class action lawsuit had been filed by two patrons of the hibachi chain — Youngsuk Kim and Jennifer Greene.

They allegedly both purchased sushi items from the menu that they believed to contain real crab but then later discovered the food contain imitation crab instead. 

The customers filed the fake crab class action lawsuit asserting that they were financially injured by Benihana’s alleged misrepresentations. They say that if they had known the items contained imitation crab, they would not have purchased it or would not have paid as much.

The plaintiffs say that though there is an asterisk noting that “kani kama crab & kani kama crab mix contains imitation crab,” that is not enough. They assert that the menu does not make it clear that items that list crab as an ingredient actually contain the kani kama crab or kani kama crab mix.

According to the consumers, the wording of the menu is intentionally ambiguous. 

The Benihana crab labeling class action lawsuit argues that the restaurant intentionally tried to pass off a less expensive and less desirable item as a more expensive and more desirable one.

Allegedly, this was an attempt to maximize profits and minimize costs. The company reportedly resorted to misleading customers to do this. 

However, the hibachi chain says that it would be unreasonable for customers to expect further clarification than the menu already provides. The restaurant claims that the customer’s request that the menu specifically declares that a particular item does not contain crab is an “attempt to argue that a menu must list every ingredient that a product does not contain.” 

According to the chain, this request would be unreasonable, and would place an “incredible and undue burden on all companies.”

Based on this assertion, the company asked the court to throw out the consumers’ argument. 

Benihana’s defense of its menu also says that the company did not violate a “fact or promise” made to consumers, nor did the company use words explicitly associated with real crab like “actual crab meat,’ “Dungeness crab,” “fresh crab,” “Blue crab,”or similar, when describing the menu items in question.

Beyond the wording of the menu, and the menu’s ability or lack thereof to declare the lack of crab in a menu item, the company also argued that kani kama crab mix is well known to be a product made from imitation crab. 

Further bolstering its argument that the Benihana fake crab class action lawsuit should be thrown out, the chain restaurant points to earlier class acton lawsuits filed against other restaurants.

According to Benihana, a P.F. Chang’s fake crab meat class action lawsuit was thrown out. Benihana says that as they argued in their case, the court determined that reasonable consumers would not be misled by the presence of imitation crab on the menu.

Have you been misled about the ingredients in a menu item? Share your experience in the comments section below. 

Kim and Greene are represented by Kenneth H. Yoon, Stephanie E. Yasuda and Brian G. Lee of Yoon Law APC, Prestin H. Lim of Lim Law Group PC and Jong Kun Kim fo Law Offices of Jong Yun Kim.

The Benihana Fake Crab Meat Class Action Lawsuit is Youngsuk Kim, et al. v. Benihana Inc., Case No. 5:19-cv-02196, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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