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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Petition Update - and Thanks

Well, this lark turned out to be more successful than I would have guessed (particularly given that I launched it just before Christmas). But the very good folks at Witigonen (also here) and BlueOregon have linked to the petition, sending more traffic its way, and there are now a whopping 86 signatures (9:11 pm).

The way with these things is that they tend to get a big burst at the start and then peter out. So if you haven't signed the petition yet, don't let it peter out:
The Honest Pint Petition

When a patron pays for a pint of beer in a restaurant or pub in Oregon, the glass should hold a full 16 ounces of beer. Unfortunately, the most common type of glassware in regular use is the 14-ounce "shaker" pint glass. In many cases, neither the owners, servers, or patrons are aware that the shaker pint glassware is undersized.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, request that the Oregon Department of Agriculture Measurement Standards Division create a program to authenticate glassware used in bars and restaurants as an honest 16-ounce pint.
Sign Now!

People can include comments with their signatures, and there have been some entertaining ones which I'll pass along for your amusement, as a sort of nightcap to this post.
A proper pint is every Oregonian's right!

It's surprising to think that, in the state most known for beer culture, you can walk into a restaurant, order a pint, pay for a pint, and legally receive less than a pint.

A pint's a pound the world around -- except in Oregon :-(

HONEST PINTS!

Yay beer!
Yay beer indeed--sign the petition!

2 comments:

  1. Just as an FYI, selling beer as a pint but including less than a pint is a violation of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act, ORS 646.605 et al. Specifically, it violates ORS 646.608(1)(e):
    646.608 (1)(e) A person engages in an unlawful practice when in the course of the person’s business, vocation or occupation the person does any of the following: […] Represents that real estate, goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, quantities or qualities that they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, qualification, affiliation, or connection that the person does not have.

    You can read a little about the UTPA here: http://www.osbar.org/public/legalinfo/1046.htm, but the gist of the law allows you to bring a suit where the damages are $200 or actual, whichever is more, and attorney fees for the prevailing party. In other words, you should be able to find an attorney willing to represent you, because s/he will get paid, and the bar will be willing to settle and change their practices, because the threat of these lawsuits is expensive. I suggest starting off with Lewis and Clark's consumer law clinic.

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  2. The problem in most cases, I think, is not that venues are consciously using dishonest glassware. I for one don't really want to go around with the threat of a lawsuit to establishments that are using dishonest pints - I'd much rather simply have proper glassware enforced at a higher level.

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