Mr. Chow Of New York v. Ste. Jour Azur S.A.
759 F.2d 219 (2nd Cir. 1985)
Nature of the Case
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Facts
D, a French corporation, is the publisher of a restaurant guide called Gault/Millau Guide to New York. Henri Gault and Christian Millau are the Guide's editors and are also shareholders in D. D published, in French, a review of P's restaurant located in New York City which specializes in Chinese cuisine. Yves Bridault, a French journalist who had previously written reviews for D wrote his review based on his dining experience at P on December 18, 1980. The review stated,
'In a pinch, you might not care that you have to wait ten minutes to obtain chop-sticks instead of forks, that it is impossible to have the basic condiments (soy sauce, hot sauce, etc.) on the table, that the principal concern of the waiters (Italians) is to sell you expensive alcoholic drinks, but the last straw is that the dishes on the menu (very short) have only the slightest relationship to the essential spirit of Chinese cuisine. With their heavy and greasy dough, the dumplings, on our visit, resembled bad Italian ravioli, the steamed meatballs had a disturbingly gamy taste, the sweet and sour pork contained more dough (badly cooked) than meat, and the green peppers which accompanied it remained still frozen on the plate. The chicken with chili was rubbery and the rice, soaking, for some reason, in oil, totally insipid. Had we been specially punished for being so pretentious as to drink only tea? Apparently not, for the drinkers of alcohol seemed as badly off as we. At a nearby table, the Peking lacquered duck (although ordered in advance) was made up of only one dish (instead of the three traditional ones), composed of pancakes the size of a saucer and the thickness of a finger. At another table, the egg-rolls had the gauge of andouillette sausages, and the dough the thickness of large tagliatelle. No matter, since the wine kept flowing. We do not know where Mr. Chow recruits his cooks, but he would do well to send them for instruction somewhere in Chinatown. There, at least, they still know the traditions. It is, however, true, that when one sees with what epicurean airs his customers exclaim at canned lychees, one can predict for him a long and prosperous life uptown. About $25, without the drinks.'
P sued D alleging that the review contained false and defamatory statements and sought compensatory damages in excess of $10,000 and punitive damages in excess of $250,000. Christine Bridault, the wife of the reviewer, testified that she had accompanied her husband to P and that his review was an accurate description of their experience. The district court submitted six statements to the jury. It instructed that if any one of them was false, defamatory and made with malice it would support a finding for P. (1) 'It is impossible to have the basic condiments . . . on the table.' (2) 'The sweet and sour pork contained more dough . . . than meat.' (3) 'The green peppers . . . remained still frozen on the plate.' (4) The rice was 'soaking . . . in oil.' (5) The Peking Duck 'was made up of only one dish (instead of the traditional three).' (6) The pancakes were 'the thickness of a finger.' P got the verdict for $20,000 and $5 in punitive damages. D appealed. D claims the statements submitted to the jury were opinion and thus privileged.
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