Stockbroker Martin Kessman might be 64 years old, but he’s behaving more like a 6-year-old recently. The 290-pounder in Nanuet, N.Y., is suing the White Castle hamburger chain because he can’t get his fat body into the booths built for people considerably smaller. He claims the chain is violating his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I’m not kidding.
As you can see in the photo, our rotund hamburger fiend is able to get into the booth, but he claims it’s not comfortable enough. I’d suggest he be arrested and carted off, but stupidity still isn’t against the law.
It’s easy to make fun of this idiot — and I take great pleasure in doing so — but the bigger issue isn’t one moron suing a restaurant. No, the bigger issue is that we’ve become a society of people who believe we’re entitled to get our way — even when we’ve created the problem we’re whining about.
Kessman doesn’t have some constitutional right to fit into a booth comfortably at White Castle, or anywhere else, for that matter. He does, however, have a constitutionally protected right to patronize other restaurants that cater to his needs. He also has the right to open a competitor to White Castle if he believes there’s a huge untapped market — no pun intended — for selling greasy burgers to other fat men.
I’m not terribly concerned that Kessman will win his suit and set yet another bad legal precedent. In fact, I’m pretty sure he will be laughed out of court. You never know, though, because courts and legislatures have done some pretty bizarre things in the name of promoting “fairness.”
White Castle says that the Nanuet location is going to be renovated at some point and it will then have slightly larger booths. Until then, a company spokesman says Kessman could have simply asked a manager for a regular chair. Instead of choosing another place to eat or finding a better solution, Kessman sued instead.
We’ve become a society filled with crybabies and spoiled brats.