That's nonsense. If that were true, not tipping in an American restaurant would give the owner the right to take me to small claims court to recover the missing tip. Do you really think simply stating that "everyone knows" would convince a judge to rule in the restaurant's favor?
No, but you are very likely to be publicly humiliated, bodily fluids been added to your dishes should you dare to visit that restaurant another time, and yes, there were cases when police was called on account of insufficient tips.
