Judiciary

Oops! ‘Meh’ parenthetical ended up in published federal decision

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A federal judge’s case dismissal is getting some attention because of an apparent note-to-self that didn’t get removed from the published order.

The writer was apparently dissatisfied with a statement summarizing the requirements for a false advertising claim. The parenthetical on page 11 reads: “(Meh I need a better rule statement than this.)”.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of San Diego signed the Feb. 5 order, but one of Curiel’s law clerks likely wrote the “meh” phrase, according to the Recorder.

The “meh” parenthetical was left out of an amended order, but it lives on because of docket scrapers such as Justia, the Recorder explains.

A member of Curiel’s staff told the Recorder that the judge had no comment on the gaffe.

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