Consumers sue Taylor Farms, Taco Bell over cyclospora outbreak

By Top Class Actions | July 27, 2026

Category: Food

Taylor Farms headquarters in Orlando — (Photo Credit: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock)

Taylor Farms class action lawsuit overview:

Who: Two consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Taylor Fresh Foods Inc., doing business as Taylor Farms.
Why: The plaintiffs claim Taylor Farms sold cyclospora-contaminated lettuce and leafy greens without warning consumers.
Where: The class action was filed in California federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges Taylor Farms sold lettuce and leafy greens contaminated with cyclospora, sickening consumers across various states during a summer outbreak.

Plaintiffs Kait Gelbspan and Victor Granados, residents of California and New York, respectively, filed the class action lawsuit against Taylor Farms on July 16 in California federal court. They allege that Taylor Farms knowingly sold products with a history of safety problems despite claiming it adheres to “stringent industry standards and certifications to uphold our promise of safety and quality.”

According to the class action lawsuit, Taylor Farms supplies produce to retailers, including Costco and Whole Foods, and restaurants, such as Sweetgreen and Taco Bell.

Granados says he bought Taylor Farms products from Sweetgreen, Costco and other retailers on at least ten occasions, while both plaintiffs claim they paid a premium price for products they would not have bought had they known of the contamination risk.

“The products were and are unfit for distribution and/or consumption because they had become contaminated with a microscopic parasite called Cyclospora caytanensis,” the Taylor Farms class action lawsuit states.

Gelbspan and Granados want to represent a nationwide class of individuals who bought Taylor Farms lettuce, shredded lettuce or leafy greens during the June and July 2026 outbreak, plus California and New York subclasses.

The class action lawsuit accuses Taylor Farms of negligence, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, unjust enrichment and violations of California and New York consumer protection and business laws.

The plaintiffs are also demanding a jury trial and seek damages, restitution and injunctive relief on behalf of the proposed classes.

Three Taco Bell lawsuits filed after consumers fall ill from contaminated lettuce

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cyclospora outbreak tied to Taylor Farms lettuce has sickened at least 1,947 people and caused 98 hospitalizations across nine states. On July 17, Taylor Farms initiated a recall of iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.

Plaintiff Mohammed Ayyad, who filed an individual Taco Bell lawsuit in Ohio federal court, alleges he became sick with cyclosporiasis after eating at a North Olmsted Taco Bell multiple times in June.

According to another complaint, Ohio resident Valerie Caruso claims her illness left her with “physical illness, pain and suffering, a diminished working capacity, and other injuries.”

Meanwhile, plaintiffs Preston and Marie Parrish allege they both “contracted cyclosporiasis as part of the 2026 outbreak” after eating contaminated lettuce at a Taco Bell in Durand, Michigan.

Gelbspan and Granados have since filed a motion requesting the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to centralize the Ohio and Michigan lawsuits with their class action in California, citing shared questions about whether Taylor Farms knew its lettuce was contaminated, as reported by Law360.

Did you purchase Taylor Farms lettuce during the outbreak? Let us know in the comments.

Gelbspan and Granados are represented by Lina Kaisey of Kaisey Law P.C., Blake Hunter Yagman of Yagman PLLC, Charles D. Moore of Reese LLP and Kevin Laukaitis of Laukaitis Law LLC.

Ayyad is represented by Alexander Darr of Darr Law and William D. Marler of Marler Clark Inc. PS. Caruso is represented by Alexander Darr of Darr Law.

Preston and Marie Parrish are represented by Brendan Flaherty of Pritzker Hageman P.A.

The Taylor Farms class action lawsuit is Gelbspan, et al. v. Taylor Fresh Foods Inc., Case No. 7:26-cv-07346, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The Taco Bell lawsuits are Ayyad v. Pacific Bells LLC, Case No. 1:26-cv-01648, Caruso v. Taco Bell of America, et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-01661, both in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; Parrish, et al. v. Taco Bell Corp., et al., Case No. 2:26-cv-12448, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.