Taco Bell and Taylor Farms Face Proposed Class Action Over Cyclospora Outbreak

A Michigan woman has filed a proposed nationwide class action against Taco Bell and several Taylor Farms companies, alleging that contaminated lettuce served by the fast food chain caused Cyclospora infections during a multi-state outbreak.

The complaint, filed Monday by Dawn Koss in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, names Taco Bell Corp., Taco Bell of America LLC, Taylor Fresh Foods Inc., Taylor Farms California Inc. and unidentified companies that may have grown, processed or distributed the lettuce.

Koss claims she ate at a Taco Bell restaurant in Yale, Michigan, on June 28 and became ill soon afterward. The filing states that testing confirmed she had Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that causes an intestinal illness known as cyclosporiasis. She alleges that symptoms continued despite antibiotic treatment.

The class action seeks to represent people nationwide who allegedly became sick after eating lettuce or menu items containing lettuce at Taco Bell during the outbreak. The filing also proposes a separate group limited to affected Michigan consumers.

Federal health officials were expanding their investigation into a large Cyclospora outbreak when the lawsuit was filed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the outbreak included 6,358 confirmed illnesses across 15 states, with at least 278 hospitalizations and two deaths in Michigan.

Investigators said interviews with people who became ill and supply chain records continue to show that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico was contaminated with Cyclospora and made people sick. The illnesses began on June 22 and continued through July 31, according to the CDC.

Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17. The recalled produce was distributed to consumers, restaurants and retailers in at least 27 states, including Taco Bell locations and select Walmart stores. Taco Bell told the Food and Drug Administration that it stopped using lettuce from the processor on the day of the recall.

According to the lawsuit, the restaurant chain and produce companies failed to take reasonable steps to source, inspect, test, store and monitor the lettuce before it reached customers. Koss also alleges failures involving supplier oversight, sanitation, product tracking, warnings and recall procedures.

At the center of the case are strict product liability and negligence, two legal theories that address different forms of responsibility for unsafe products. Strict product liability generally focuses on the condition of a product when it was sold. A consumer may not need to prove that a business knew the product was dangerous, but must still show that the product was defective and caused the injury.

Negligence focuses on conduct. Businesses involved in producing and selling food are expected to use reasonable care at the parts of the supply chain they control. Growers, processors, distributors and restaurants may have different duties involving sanitation, testing, storage, supplier selection and the removal of unsafe food.

Causation may become a central issue as the case moves forward. Federal findings linking the broader outbreak to Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce support the allegation that contaminated produce was distributed, but each person seeking damages would still need evidence connecting an infection to lettuce supplied to a particular Taco Bell location.

Warranty claims form another part of the case. Food sold by a restaurant ordinarily carries a basic promise that it is fit to eat. A product contaminated with a parasite may violate that promise even when the seller did not make a specific written guarantee about its safety.

Koss further claims the companies violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act and committed negligence per se. Consumer protection laws generally prohibit misleading or unfair business practices, while negligence per se allows alleged violations of safety laws to support a negligence claim. Neither theory removes the need to connect the alleged misconduct to the illness and losses being claimed.

Requested relief includes compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and other losses. The lawsuit also seeks restitution, punitive damages where permitted, attorneys’ fees and an order allowing the case to proceed on behalf of the proposed classes.

Taco Bell and the Taylor Farms companies had not filed responses to the lawsuit as of Wednesday.