Walmart Class Action Says Taylor Farms Salads Contaminated With E. Coli

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Walmart Inc. and related defendants are facing a class action lawsuit alleging Taylor Farms’ romaine lettuce products marketed as “triple washed and ready to enjoy” were contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Taylor Farms processes and manufactures fresh produce products, many of which include romaine lettuce products, the Walmart class action lawsuit alleges.

“The marketing of Taylor Farms’ products with romaine lettuce is false and misleading because, for a significant period of time in 2018, those products contained a harmful and even deadly strain of E. coli bacteria,” the Walmart class action lawsuit alleges.

E. coli reportedly causes symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and can lead to kidney failure and death in some cases, the Walmart class action lawsuit says.

According to the Taylor Farms class action lawsuit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement in April 2018 that it was investigating an E. coli outbreak after a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections was reported. The CDC reportedly found that chopped romaine lettuce was the likely source of the E. coli outbreak.

The plaintiffs say that the CDC reported that at least 31 people were hospitalized as a result of the E. coli outbreak, including five people who reportedly developed a type of kidney failure.

Plaintiffs Rick Musgrave and Margaret Gray, both citizens of California, claim they purchased Taylor Farms romaine lettuce products from Walmart or Sam’s Club stores in April 2018. They each allegedly became very sick after consuming the romaine lettuce products.

“Plaintiffs relied on Defendants’ false and misleading sales pitch for Taylor Farms’ products with romaine lettuce, and they would not have purchased those products had they known the products were unsafe,” the Walmart class action lawsuit says.

According to the Walmart class action lawsuit, a recall of Taylor Farms salad products was issued on April 15, 2018. The recall notice reportedly informed consumers that they could return the Taylor Farms products to their local Sam’s Club for a full refund. Walmart, however, reportedly posted a notice on its website but did not offer refunds to consumers or post notices in its stores about the contamination.

“As a result of Defendants processing, manufacturing, distributing, and selling Taylor Farms’ products with romaine lettuce without taking the proper precautions, Defendants placed in the stream of commerce products that are unusable, unsafe, and have caused purchasers and consumers of these products to suffer or potentially suffer illness, as well as the loss of monies,” the Walmart class action lawsuit says.

Musgrave and Gray seek to represent a proposed Class of consumers in the United States who purchased Taylor Farms romaine lettuce products since Feb. 1, 2018. They also seek to represent a subclass of California consumers who purchased Taylor Farms romaine lettuce products within the state of California.

The Taylor Farms class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability for food; violation of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act; violation of California’s False Advertising Law; violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law; and negligence.

Musgrave and Gray are seeking damages; restitution and/or disgorgement; punitive damages; attorney’s fees and costs; and other relief the court deems proper.

The plaintiffs are represented by L. Timothy Fisher, Scott A. Bursor and Blair E. Reed of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Walmart Taylor Farms Salads Class Action Lawsuit is Rick Musgrave, et al. v. Taylor Farms Pacific Inc., et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-02841-JCS, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.