{"id":2580827,"date":"2026-03-17T11:19:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-law-student-sues-for-100k-over-spicy-nyc-taco\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T11:25:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:25:49","slug":"german-law-student-sues-for-100k-over-spicy-nyc-taco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-law-student-sues-for-100k-over-spicy-nyc-taco\/","title":{"rendered":"German Law Student Sues for $100K Over Spicy NYC Taco"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgerman-law-student-sues-for-100k-over-spicy-nyc-taco%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2580827&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A German traveler, Faycal Manz, spent six days in the United States in 2024 and ended up pursuing several lawsuits after a series of unsettling experiences. After dining at Los Tacos No. 1 in Times Square, he alleged that consuming green salsa caused severe physical symptoms and sued the restaurant for $100,000 for \u201cfailure to warn\u201d about the spice. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho rejected the claim, ruling ther is no duty to warn consumers about spice-related risks in salsa.<\/p>\n<p>Manz then filed additional lawsuits: one against Walmart in Secaucus, New Jersey, seeking $10 million over his German phone not connecting to Walmart\u2019s Wi\u2011Fi and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/personal-injury-lawyer-finds-a-new-practice-area-suing-for-kids-harmed-by-crt-in-schools\/\" title=\"Personal Injury Lawyer Finds A New Practice Area: Suing For Kids Harmed By CRT In ...s\">claiming emotional distress<\/a>; this suit was dismissed, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-rep-reports-strip-club-visit-using-campaign-funds\/\" title=\"State Rep Reports Strip Club Visit Using Campaign Funds\">judge noting<\/a> that a person with a German phone is not a protected class under the Civil Rights Act. He also filed a $10 million suit against the New York Police Department for not accepting his international phone number after he reported a crime; that case was dismissed as well. All three suits were filed pro se (without legal representation), and none of them succeeded in recouping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-cancer-charity-gave-zero-for-research-millions-spent-on-salaries-travel\/\" title=\"Biden Cancer Charity Gave \u2018Zero\u2019 For Research; Millions ... On Salaries, Travel\">travel expenses<\/a> or other damages.<\/p>\n<p>The cases were reported by outlets including Gothamist, The New York Times, and The New York Post. The narrative ends on a tongue-in-cheek note that perhaps his law-school professors will give him an \u201cA\u201d for effort.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>If you happen to have a hammer, it&rsquo;s been said, every problem looks like a nail.<\/p>\n<p>But if you&rsquo;re a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >part-time law student<\/a>, chances are every problem looks like a potential lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Was that the case for a German tourist who spent six days in the United States in 2024?<\/p>\n<p>Faycal Manz visited Los Tacos No. 1 in New York City&rsquo;s Times Square in August of that year.<\/p>\n<p>He slathered his order with green salsa, took one bite, and instantly felt &ldquo;severe physical symptoms,&rdquo; according to a report by <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/food\/theres-a-problem-with-the-sauce-times-square-taquerias-salsa-sparks-lawsuit?utm_source=sfmc&amp;utm_medium=nypr-&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletter+-+Early+Addition+-+20260311&amp;utm_term=tried+it+himself+to+see+if+the+claim+has+merit&amp;utm_id=555972&amp;sfmc_id=111119335&amp;utm_content=2026311&amp;nypr_member=Unknown\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gothamist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;His tongue burned, his face turned red, and his heart rate soared,&rdquo; according to the report. &ldquo;He said he suffered gastrointestinal distress and mouth sores that lasted for days.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/11\/us-news\/judge-says-nein-to-german-tourist-lawsuit-over-spicy-tacos-suit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a> provided a bit more detail, saying Manz suffered from diarrhea and nausea, as well as &ldquo;mouth\/tongue blisters which cause nonstop pain.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>So what&rsquo;s an out-of-towner to do when the food from Los Tacos No. 1 makes you&hellip; ahem&hellip; go No. 2?<\/p>\n<p>Most of us would head for the corner drug store to grab some Imodium or Alka-Seltzer or Pepto-Bismol.<\/p>\n<p>But Faycal Manz decided to sue.<\/p>\n<p>Manz, who is an engineer and part-time law student from Schemmerhofen, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/14\/nyregion\/german-tourist-new-york-lawsuit-walmart-nypd.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>, demanded $100,000 from the Mexican restaurant chain for &ldquo;failure to warn&rdquo; customers of the &ldquo;dangerous&rdquo; condiment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unfortunately, his painful salsa experience caused a loss &lsquo;of enjoyment during my very short trip,&rsquo;&rdquo; according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Dale Ho wasn&rsquo;t convinced.<\/p>\n<p>He denied Manz&rsquo;s claim and closed the case, ruling &ldquo;there is no duty to warn a consumer of the spice-associated risks that come with consuming salsa.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Alas, the spicy salsa incident was only the warm-up to the trauma Manz experienced in the Land of the Free.<\/p>\n<p>On a subsequent shopping trip, he was shocked to find that his German phone could not connect to the Wi-Fi at the Walmart Supercenter in Secaucus, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>So he sued again &mdash; this time for $10 million, claiming in his suit that the experience &ldquo;caused a big emotional negative impact&rdquo; that included &ldquo;flashbacks to acts of discrimination he had suffered in school and at work,&rdquo; The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n<p>The federal judge in that case dismissed the suit, ruling that &ldquo;a person with a German phone is not a member of a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Manz&rsquo;s problems still were not behind him. He was again led to file another $10 million lawsuit, this time against the New York Police Department, &ldquo;for not accepting his international phone number after he reported a crime,&rdquo; according to the New York Post.<\/p>\n<p>That <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colbert-defends-staffers-arrested-at-u-s-capitol\/\" title=\"Colbert Defends Staffers Arrested At U.S. Capitol\">encounter caused<\/a> him &ldquo;insomnia and intrusive flashbacks,&rdquo; prompting his doctor to diagnose him with &ldquo;psychosomatic and post-traumatic symptoms,&rdquo; The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n<p>After the NYPD responded, saying he &ldquo;should have known&hellip; the risks and dangers&rdquo; involved, &ldquo;Mr. Manz dropped his lawsuit,&rdquo; the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>He filed all three suits on his own, without legal representation, The New York Times explained, adding that Manz &ldquo;did not respond to an  seeking comment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>So the German tourist struck out three times on recouping any of his travel expenses for his U.S. vacation.<\/p>\n<p>On the bright side, maybe his law school professors will give him an &ldquo;A&rdquo; for effort.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the article content (excluding the embedded code and UI elements):<\/p>\n<p>During a six-day visit to the United States in 2024, German engineer and part-time law student Faycal Manz ate at Los Tacos No. 1 in Times Square and, after trying a green salsa, quickly suffered severe symptoms such as a burning tongue, flushed face, rapid heart rate, and days of gastrointestinal distress, along with mouth sores. He sued the restaurant for $100,000, alleging a failure to warn about the salsa\u2019s dangerous spice. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho dismissed the claim, ruling there is no duty to warn consumers about spicy condiments. Manz then filed additional lawsuits: one claiming his German phone could not connect to Walmart\u2019s Wi\u2011Fi in Secaucus, NJ, seeking $10 million for emotional distress; that suit was dismissed, with the judge noting that a German device is not a protected class under the Civil Rights Act. He filed a third $10 million suit against the New York Police Department for not accepting his international phone number after he reported a crime, alleging insomnia and intrusive flashbacks; that suit was dropped after the NYPD\u2019s response. All three lawsuits were filed pro se, and he did not respond to comment requests. The sequence illustrates Manz\u2019s pattern of attempting to recover travel-related expenses and other damages from experiences in the U.S., though none of the suits succeeded, leaving open the possibility that his law-school professors might offer some credit for the effort<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2580828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Taco-lawsuit.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[51639,4585,7332,75964,11453],"class_list":["post-2580827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-law-2","tag-lawsuit","tag-nyc","tag-spicy","tag-taco"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Taco-lawsuit.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2580827"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2580832,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580827\/revisions\/2580832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2580828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2580827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2580827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2580827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}