Mother and daughter sue New York restaurant over plastic in sandwich
A Texas mother and her eight-year-old daughter have filed a lawsuit against Obica Mozzarella Bar in New York, claiming they cracked their teeth after biting into a sandwich allegedly containing a chunk of hard plastic. Stevie Bingham says the December 2023 incident, during what was meant to be a festive family holiday, has left her needing a permanent fake tooth and her daughter facing years of dental treatment, including a root canal. The case is notable given the restaurant's high-profile Madison Avenue location and its billionaire-adjacent ownership by an Italian industrial dynasty.
Bingham, 48, alleges her daughter began screaming after biting into the $19 sandwich, and that she then cracked her own front tooth after taking a bite herself. She claims the restaurant manager offered only "laughable" compensation and refused to cover dental costs, prompting the lawsuit, which accuses Obica of negligence and breach of warranty. The chain, which has more than 20 outlets worldwide, is owned by Paolo Scudieri, an Italian businessman worth an estimated $500 million; Obica has not responded to requests for comment.
- Mother and daughter allege plastic in sandwich cracked their teeth
- Lawsuit filed against Obica Mozzarella Bar in New York
- Restaurant owned by Italian millionaire Paolo Scudieri; no comment given
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates for the family's case argue that restaurants have a basic duty to ensure food is free of dangerous foreign objects, and that a hard piece of plastic ending up in a sandwich represents a clear and preventable failure of care, not an unfortunate accident. They contend that when a child and parent suffer lasting dental injuries requiring ongoing treatment, seeking fair compensation through the courts is a legitimate and responsible response, especially if the restaurant's own offer was dismissed as inadequate. From this view, litigation exists precisely to hold businesses accountable when informal resolution fails, regardless of the owner's wealth or the venue's prestige.
The case against
Those more sceptical of the lawsuit would argue that isolated incidents, however unfortunate, do not necessarily prove negligence, and that restaurants cannot guarantee absolute perfection in food preparation despite reasonable precautions. They might note that the emphasis on the owner's billionaire status and the restaurant's upmarket location risks framing the case around perceived wealth rather than the actual facts of what happened, which is a matter still to be tested in court. From this perspective, it is important to let the legal process establish liability and appropriate compensation rather than presuming fault before the restaurant has had a chance to respond.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Stylist’s lunch with daughter, 8, at millionaire’s ritzy New York restaurant ends in screams and disaster after mozzarella sandwich order, lawsuit claims”.