Tainted Similac Infant Formula Class Action Lawsuit Moves Forward

By Sarah Mirando | October 14, 2011

Category: Legal News

By Mike Holter

A federal judge has ruled that a New Jersey mother whose baby got sick after eating Similac infant formula contaminated with beetles and larvae can proceed with a class action lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories for shipping the tainted formula. The decision comes just months after the pharmaceutical giant dodged a similar Similac class action lawsuit this summer.

The Similac class action lawsuits were spawned after Abbott issued a massive recall of nearly 5 million containers of powdered Similac infant formula in September 2010 when it was discovered that formula from a specific plant was contaminated with beetle and larvae parts. Consuming the tainted Similac infant formula posed no immediate health risks, but it did cause digestion problems in some infants.

Mother Rebecca Brown alleges in her Similac formula class action lawsuit that she unknowingly purchased one of the tainted containers of Similac and fed it to her daughter, which caused her to vomit and require pediatric treatment. Brown says after she switched to a new formula, the feeding issues disappeared.

Brown is alleging strict liability against Abbott Laboratories in addition to claims of negligence and fraud, and is demanding Abbott pay damages and disgorge any profits received through selling the tainted Similac.

U.S. District Judge John Grady dismissed the majority of Brown’s claims with prejudice, ruling she could not prove the contaminated Similac caused her daughter to get sick.

“It is possible that Brown’s daughter spit up because infants often spit up, for reasons other than contaminated baby formula,” Grady wrote.

However, Grady did allow Brown to proceed on the counts of breach of express warranty and state-law violations.

The Abbott Laboratories Tainted Similac Infant Formula Class Action Lawsuit Case is Brown v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Case No. 10-cv-06674, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.