Diner who blamed 'runaway chocolate truffle' when she slipped in high heels exiting Michelin-listed restaurant loses £100,000 payout claim
Rosina Malik, 62, twisted her ankle and broke her right wrist when she fell at the fine dining restaurant Chapter One, in Farnborough Common, Kent.
She tumbled as she attempted to stand to adjust her dress at the end of a three-course dinner with two friends.
Blaming her accident on stepping on a 'runaway' caramel-filled chocolate truffle, she said it had been 'dropped but not retrieved' by a waiter during dessert, as she got up from her chair.
Mrs Malik, of Castlemaine Road, South Croydon, sued the restaurant's owners, Simply Chapters Ltd, for up to £100,000 in damages over the impact of the October 2020 accident.
But the restaurant denied liability and while not disputing that a truffle was dropped onto the floor, the restaurant's managers insisted Mrs Malik did not step on it before the accident.
In a judgment at Central London County Court this week, Judge Nigel Gerald ruled against Mrs Malik, crucially finding that her right shoe had 'no contact' with the truffle - and so dashing her hopes of securing compensation for her injuries.
The 62-year-old told the court she was left 'in shock' after her fall, which left her with painful injuries to her ankle and wrist.
The offending truffle was among a selection offered up by her table's waiter which she and her companions decided to have boxed up since they were already full from their dinner.
But the truffle fell from its dish while being transferred to the box, explained Mrs Malik, rolling off the edge of the table, where - she claimed - she subsequently trod on it.
Mrs Malik told the court: 'I stood up and, as I stood up straight and tried to fix my dress, my feet started to slip and just gave way under me.'
She explained that when she got up from the table she assumed their waiter had already picked the truffle up from the floor and that it was no longer a 'risk'.
'If the waiter knew it was there, he should have brought it to my attention,' she told the judge.
'When I stood up, I assumed that whatever had been dropped had been picked up. I had no knowledge that something which had fallen was still on the floor when I stood up.'
The judge said that immediately after the accident all assumed that the truffle was the culprit as it was found on the floor, while some of the chocolate remains were also on the sole of Mrs Malik's shoe.
But an exhaustive trawl through the restaurant's CCTV showed a more complex picture, with the restaurant maintaining there was no point where Mrs Malik was seen to stand on the caramel choc.
Her barrister, Simon Plaut, put her case on grounds that she either stepped on the truffle's 'viscous residue' after standing up from the table - or that she herself squashed the chocolate by standing on it while standing up.
But the restaurant's barrister, Juliet Stevenson claimed Mrs Malik ended up on the floor after her right ankle 'inverted' and she tripped over., saying the 'runaway truffle' had nothing to do with the accident.
She sketched out multiple alternative possible reasons for Mrs Malik's loss of balance, including she having knocked back up to three glasses of wine, a 'somewhat slippery floor,' fatigue at the end of the day, and wearing high heels.
But she also noted: 'The fact is that people do on occasion lose their balance without clear cause.'
Judge Gerald in his ruling said the video footage did not show any contact between Mrs Malik's foot and the truffle, adding: 'Her toe appears to come close to the truffle, but it's quite clear that it doesn't in fact come so close or within contact, because not only does the truffle not move but it's shape does not change.'
As for the traces of sticky caramel on her shoe, this probably ended up on the sole 'after the accident and before her shoes were removed,' the judge added.
'I find that the claimant didn't tread on the truffle before she fell and therefore she has been unable to establish the essential facts which she relied on and I dismiss her claim,' he concluded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Woman in her 80s dies after four-vehicle crash in Redhill
A woman in her 80s has died following a crash involving three cars and a lorry in Surrey, police have said. Officers were called to the A23 Horley Road, where it meets Earlswood Road, in Redhill at about 08:30 BST on force said the woman, a passenger in one of the cars, was airlifted to hospital where she later died. Six other people were also hurt and taken to hospital. A 25-year-old man from East Grinstead, West Sussex, was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by careless have appealed for witnesses and anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam footage to get in touch.
The Sun
23 minutes ago
- The Sun
Iceland boss dishing out FREE cash to customers for snitching on shoplifters
ICELAND customers will be paid to snitch on shoplifters, the supermarket's boss has pledged. Richard Walker said the chain would give shoppers £1 on their bonus cards if they point out thieves to store workers. 1 He said this would help the chain to lower its prices, as shoplifting currently costs Iceland over £20million a year. Iceland is believed to be the first major UK supermarket to bring in incentives for shoppers who snitch on the criminals. "I'd actually like to announce that we will give a pound to any customer who points out a shoplifter," He told Channel 5 News on Wednesday. "We will put it on their bonus card if they see any customer in our stores who are undertaking that offence." Asked if he thought the policy would deter thieves, he said: "Well, yeah, because some people see it as a victimless crime. It is not. "It also keeps prices from being lowered because it's a cost to the business, it's a cost to the hours that we pay our colleagues, as well as it obviously being about intimidation and violence." Mr Walker also revealed that shoplifting costs the supermarket chain more than £20million a year. "That's not £20 million of profit. That's just £20 million that we could pay in more hours to our colleagues or in lowering prices," he said. "So we'd like our customers to help us lower our prices even more by pointing out shoplifters and then we'll give them a quid back." It comes after The Sun revealed that Britain's shoplifting epidemic is costing households almost £147 a year, as stores hike prices to recoup their losses and pay for extra security measures. McDonald's Sauce Restriction Sparks Outrage: Fan Reactions & Fast Food Changes Many major high street chains have added alarm tags and stickers, each costing around £50, to protect their goods. Some are even going a step further to deter thieves. A Tesco Express in Brighton, for example, recently locked all of its beer and wine behind tills with spirits and cigarettes. Some retailers, including Ann Summers, are even arming staff with body cameras to combat theft. There were 516,971 shoplifting crimes last year, according to the Office for National Statistics - a 20 per cent increase on 2023 when 429,873 offences were recorded. Mr Walker's comments come just days after Iceland announced it would have to hike food prices following the Rachel Reeves' tax raid on businesses. In recently published accounts, the retailer said National Insurance and minimum wage hikes had led to increased supplier costs. It was a significant U-turn to comments made by Mr Walker in January, when he told The Telegraph that companies should stop "wallowing" and complaining about the measures announced in Labour's Autumn Budget. .
The Sun
23 minutes ago
- The Sun
Coleen Rooney revives Wagatha Christie skills as a detective investigating Man City charges in hilarious Paddy Power ad
COLEEN ROONEY revived her epic super sleuth skills to investigate Man City's Financial Fair Play case in a hilarious new Paddy Power sketch. The 39-year-old aka 'Wagatha Christie' has teamed up with the Irish betting company to announce its record-breaking 'Justice Refund'. 2 2 In the clip, no-nonsense Coleen, who is married to Wayne Rooney, is the boss of a parody 'Investigation Department' tackling a number mock cases. In a mock office she examines joke complaints including whether "nothing beats a Jet2 holiday" and the "latest refereeing conspiracy theories" by Arsenal fans. She then uncovers a suspicious phone call from a 'Mr Howard Wobb' heaping praise on VAR and hailing referees. But the sketch reaches its crescendo when she has to crack the case of the ongoing FFP saga. City were slapped with a whopping 115 charges over alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules back in February which then went up to 130. She gives her verdict saying that Paddy Power will sort it out once and for all if the game's bigwigs won't. The Paddy Power 'Justice Refund' is a payback scheme giving money back to all punters who backed a team that finished second to Manchester City in the Premier League since 2011. It covers eight seasons, meaning Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool fans who placed title bets in those years will have their stakes returned. More than 100,000 punters are set to benefit - including those who backed United in 2011/12, 2017/18 and 2020/21, Liverpool in 2013/14, 2018/19 and 2021/22, and Arsenal in 2022/23 and 2023/24. Rebekah Vardy LOSES bid to have Coleen Rooney's Wagatha Christie court costs slashed & faces £1.6m bill An official verdict on City's alleged 115 financial charges are still pending after the hearing concluded last December. City have vehemently denied the charges and have been fighting their corner at London's International Dispute Resolution Centre since mid-September. City have been accused of failing to accurately report their finances over a nine-year period from 2009-10 and 2017-18. It's also alleged they failed to provide all the details about former manager Roberto Mancini 's pay packets between 2009-10 and 2012-13. The charges also relate to their alleged failure to disclose full player salaries between 2010-11 and 2015-16. In addition to their alleged financial wrongdoings, City have been accused of failing to co-operate with the Prem's investigation. If found guilty, City could be hit with huge financial penalties and a points deducation. They could also be RELEGATED if they're found to have committed the most serious charges. The club will likely appeal any verdict which doesn't go their way, meaning the final decision may not be made until the end of NEXT SEASON. The Wagatha Christie saga involved - and resulted in a High Court libel battle.
