Statute Says It’s Illegal To Sell Foie Gras, So Chef Gave It Away.
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Foie gras is considered by some to be a food delicacy; it is made from the liver of a duck fattened by the use of force feedings. In 2004, after animal rights groups argued the production of foie gras involved cruelty to animals, the California Legislature enacted Health and Safety Code section 25982, banning the sale of foie gras effective July 1, 2012. In this action, an animal rights group sued a restaurant who served foie gras. Actually, when the restaurant served the foie gras, it was part of a tasting menu for which there was no separate charge, so in effect it was a gift from the chef. The restaurant argued it did not sell foie gras in violation of the statute, but gave it away. The trial court denied the restaurant’s motion to strike the action. The appellate court agreed with the trial judge, and concluded the action may proceed in the trial court, analogizing the situation to the California Supreme Court’s decision in Ennabe v. Manosa (2014) 58 Cal.4th 697, [168 Cal.Rptr.3d 440, 319 P.3d 201]. In Ennabe, a statute prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages to an obviously intoxicated minor, and the court considered whether that defendant could be held liable where she supplied alcohol to a minor at a party, and the minor was charged a fee to enter the party, but not specifically charged for the alcohol. In the present foie gras case, the appellate court applied the same reasoning the Supreme Court applied in Ennabe, concluding it was immaterial that no separate price was charged for the foie gras. (Animal Legal Defense Fund v. LT Napa Partners LLC (Cal. App. First Dist., Div. 5; 2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 1270 [184 Cal.Rptr.3d 759].)
