A burrito by any other name

It was widely reported today that the courts at Massachusetts, having gravely considered the issue and giving all due deference to the submissions of learned counsel, have concluded that a burrito is not, in fact, a sandwich.

Seems that the Panera folks had a lease in a shopping center that precluded another 'sandwich shop' from opening in the same area. Qdoba, a chain operation, opened a burrito shop. Panera sued to prevent Qdoba from bringing the detestable spawn of Satan himself anywhere near their turf.

The court concluded that a burrito was not, in fact, a sandwich as that is known, partially because a sandwich has two sides and a burrito has sort of a Mobius strip thang going on.

The entire subject goes to show what sort of legerdemain the twin effects of not enough legal precision and too damn many lawyers can produce.