Fifth Circuit Revives Class Action Over Mary Mahoney's Imported Seafood Labels

A federal appeals court ruled on October 16, 2026 that a class-action lawsuit against Mary Mahoney's can move forward, reversing a district court dismissal of a customer's claim that the Biloxi restaurant mislabeled imported seafood as locally caught. EIN Presswire carried the report.

Fifth Circuit Reverses Giroula Dismissal

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of plaintiff Todd McCain's lawsuit over the restaurant's labeling of imported seafood as local Gulf seafood. In June 2025, U.S. District Judge Louis Giroula dismissed McCain's suit alleging Mary Mahoney's served him cheaper imported seafood labeled as local Gulf seafood on three visits to the restaurant in 2018.

The lawsuit followed Mary Mahoney's co-owner Anthony Cvitanovich's May 2024 guilty plea to federal charges related to mislabeling seafood. According to court documents, the district court dismissed McCain's complaint, saying that because he ate the meals without concern, his claim did not constitute real injury. The court also said it was unlikely McCain received mislabeled frozen fish, saying he did not claim all the fish on the dates he visited were mislabeled, meaning his claim was not a "particularized" injury.

The district court also denied McCain's motion to amend his complaint, saying any amendment would be "futile" because it could not show a valid particularized injury. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying McCain's injuries were real because he was tricked into buying fish he would not have bought if he had known it was cheaper imported fish. The appeals court also said that because McCain was overcharged due to fraud, he had a real claim of injury, and that because the defendants were engaged in a "continuous and ongoing" mislabeling conspiracy, McCain only had to allege mislabeling was "widespread and routine."

Because the 5th Circuit found that the current complaint established a valid injury, the district court cannot deny McCain's motion to amend his complaint if he chooses to do so.

Mary Mahoney's Restaurant Operations

Mary Mahoney's Old French House is a family-owned fine dining restaurant in Biloxi, Mississippi, operating since 1964 from a 1737 French colonial building and serving upscale New Orleans-style Creole cuisine, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show the restaurant has served guests for 60 years since opening in May 1964, and that for 50 years presidents, dignitaries, celebrities and millions of others have visited. Mary Mahoney's has also extended its brand beyond the physical restaurant, launching nationwide mail-order frozen seafood gumbo in gallon sizes at $98 per order, shipped via FedEx overnight or 2-day.

Other Legal Disputes in the Sector

Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center faces a patients' civil lawsuit stalled indefinitely because of a related criminal case with no trial date, involving nurse Dani Marie Schofield and 44 felony assault counts, EIN Presswire reported. Kahn Swick & Foti continues investigating MongoDB officers and directors over a securities class action, FinancialContent Business Page reported. Stallion Group filed an appeal against a Federal High Court judgment in Lagos in a dispute with United Bank for Africa, THISDAYLIVE reported. Wells Fargo won a court order dismissing former CEO Tim Sloan's $34 million lawsuit, TradingView reported.

What Comes Next in the Case

The 5th Circuit's ruling allows McCain to amend his complaint if he chooses to do so, and the district court cannot deny that motion.