An up-market US restaurant chain at the centre of the notorious ‘condom soup’ controversy will argue that the contraceptive device was deviously planted by a dining plaintiff when the matter proceeds to trial early next year.

Four women have sued McCormack and Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants for emotional and mental anguish after witnessing one of their party, Lalla Sultan, inadvertently chew on a condom during a meal last year.

Tucking into a bowl of clam chowder at one of the franchise’s Californian outlets, Sultan drew a spoonful of contraception into her mouth, initially believing it was a clam because of the added ingredient’s rubbery texture.

But upon discovering the awful truth, Sultan hurriedly spat the offending item out before rushing to relieve her stomach of all further contents in the bathroom.

“There was no question what it was,” Paula Wild, one of Sultan’s dining companions, told The Los Angeles Times. “We’re all adult women. Believe me, I’ve seen one in my lifetime.”

Aside from psychological anguish, Sultan also claims the incident has incited a loss of appetite for both food and sex. Although the condom was understood to be rolled up, the women are not convinced it was necessarily new.

The restaurant’s attorney, Patrick Stark, said his client would reject any suggestion it was responsible.

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“Either it came from [the four women] or it was thrown in as a practical joke by another patron at the restaurant,” he said.