CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A Charleston-area restaurant is seeking to have a lawsuit filed against them in June dismissed, amid ongoing legal disputes over claims of false advertising related to the use of local shrimp. The South Carolina Shrimpers Association had filed a lawsuit accusing dozens of Lowcountry restaurants of falsely advertising that they served locally sourced shrimp.
Saltwater Cowboys, one of the restaurants named in the lawsuit, filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the term “local” is too ambiguous and that claims of not using local shrimp cannot be considered factual statements. The restaurant further stated that these claims do not meet the legal requirements necessary to support a Lanham Act claim, which addresses false advertising. They also argued that the Shrimpers Association lacks constitutional standing to pursue the case in federal court.
The original lawsuit filed by the Shrimpers Association claims that restaurants advertising local shrimp but failing to serve it are engaging in false advertising, in violation of federal law and South Carolina’s Fair Trade Practices Act. According to Sea D Consulting, which conducted genetic shrimp dish testing, 90% of the 44 Charleston-area restaurants sampled were found to be misleading customers about the origin of their shrimp. Twenty-five of the restaurants were said to be “outright fraudulent.”
As part of the amended lawsuit, seven restaurants have been dismissed from the case. These include:
- Mount Pleasant Seafood
- Carrigs Seafood, Inc.
- Poseidon’s Playground LLC
- Ghost Kitchen, LLC
- Happy Crab Cajun Seafood LLC
- Pier 101
- Crab Du Jour of Charleston LLC
Both the South Carolina Shrimpers Association and Saltwater Cowboys have not released any comments or statements regarding the latest developments in the case.
