MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The peanuts appear to be free when customers walk into a Logan's Roadhouse restaurant and are
available for customers in big barrels in the waiting area and by
the bucket load on dining tables.

But an Alabama appeals court has ruled customers are actually
paying for the peanuts when they pay their bills.

The ruling by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals means that the state can't charge Logan's an additional use tax for the peanuts.

There are 19 Logan's restaurants in Alabama.

An attorney for Logan's, Bruce Rawls of Birmingham, said the peanuts are considered part of the "total dining experience."

But attorney Joe Garrett of the Alabama Department of Revenue
says the state felt the peanuts should be taxed separately because
they don't appear on the menu.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)