By-Lined Article
Food for thought: restaurant sued for stale Web site
By Eric J. Sinrod
March 2, 2005
USAToday.com
And now for a taste of something different on the international cyberlaw front: a restaurant reportedly has been fined because of out-of-date prices and entrees on its Web site.
Indeed, under New Zealand's Fair Trading Act, the owner of a restaurant in Henderson, Waitakere, New Zealand, called Tony's Vineyard Restaurant, pled guilty to misleading menu prices and availability that occurred for half of a year.
The fine totaled $3,000 in New Zealand currency and the restaurant also was ordered to pay $260 in New Zealand currency to cover court costs.
So, how did this happen? Well, after receiving a complaint from a customer of Tony's Vineyard Restaurant, a New Zealand Commerce Commission investigation reportedly uncovered that many entrees promoted on the restaurant's Web site either were not available at all or were not available at the prices listed on the Web site.
The investigation concluded that the Web site prices were between 17% and 36% cheaper than displayed on actual menus in the restaurant.
A New Zealand Commerce Commission spokesperson reportedly stated that a restaurant owner should not be excused in circumstances like this, even if the Web site is outdated because of lack of time or technical knowledge.
On the one hand, misrepresentations are not appropriate on the Internet, just as in other places. On the other hand, it is not difficult to imagine that at times people might forget to update their sites frequently; the restaurant customers at least were given the proper prices on the in-house menus.
One might think the New Zealand Commerce Commission has bigger fish to fry (pardon the pun). And surely Tony's has received more publicity and business from this incident than its Web site ever would have cooked up.
Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris (www.duanemorris.com), where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology disputes. His column appears Wednesdays at USATODAY.com. His Web site is www.sinrodlaw.com, and he can be reached at . To receive a weekly e-mail link to Mr. Sinrod's columns, please send an e-mail with the word Subscribe in the Subject line to .
Reprinted here with permission from USAToday.com.
