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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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A proposed class action lawsuit is seeking damages of at least $200 for customers in West Virginia who purchased Taco Bell items containing lettuce that has been linked to a widespread outbreak of cyclospora, a diarrhea-causing parasite.
Attorneys for Lawrence Null of West Virginia filed the lawsuit against Taco Bell and produce supplier Taylor Farms in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on July 21. Both companies are based in California.
Null bought three cheesy bean and rice burritos containing lettuce and a mini taco salad at a Taco Bell location in Ravenswood, West Virginia, on June 29, says the complaint, reviewed by Newsweek.
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He "would not have purchased the products, or would not have paid the price he paid, had he known the lettuce was contaminated and could not lawfully be sold for human consumption," it says.
Unlike many of the other lawsuits that have been filed amid the outbreak, the one filed on Null's behalf is not about personal injury, but economic loss.
"Every class member suffered the same economic injury the moment the transaction closed: each paid full price for food that was worth less than represented, and in law was worthless because it could not be sold for human consumption," it says.
The lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide class of all consumers who purchased one or more of the affected products between May 1 and the date of the final judgment, and a subclass of consumers from West Virginia who purchased affected products in the state.
"People trust that the food they buy is safe to eat. When they spend their hard-earned money at a restaurant or at the supermarket, they are paying for a wholesome food, and do not want to gamble on whether they will get sick," Eduard Korsinsky, an attorney representing Null, told Newsweek.
"Public health authorities have linked this Taylor Farms lettuce to a nationwide cyclospora outbreak, and consumers who paid full price for food that could not lawfully be sold deserve to be made whole. Our job is to hold these companies accountable and to recover the best result we can for the people who paid for something we allege was worth less than they were promised."
Newsweek has contacted Taco Bell and Taylor Farms for comment via email.
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What the Lawsuit Alleges
The lawsuit alleges a violation of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, unjust enrichment and negligence.
It alleges that Taylor Farms knowingly and recklessly sold contaminated lettuce "with the representation, express or implied, that it was wholesome food fit for human consumption" and that Taco Bell, in turn, served it to consumers "as an ordinary, safe ingredient in the food it sold."
The lawsuit also alleges that Taco Bell’s voluntary removal of the potentially affected lettuce "confirms that the product was not fit for sale and should never have been sold to consumers."
It also points to prior outbreaks linked to Taylor Farms, including an E.coli outbreak in 2024 that public health authorities found was likely caused by onions supplied by Taylor Farms to a national restaurant chain.
The prior incidents put Taylor Farms "on actual notice of the risk of parasitic and bacterial contamination in its produce supply chain," the complaint says, but Taylor Farms "nonetheless failed to prevent the contamination alleged here."
What the Lawsuit Is Seeking
The lawsuit asks the court to certify the case as a class action and appoint Null as the class representative.
It also asks the court to declare the defendants’ conduct violates the laws cited in the lawsuit, and award "actual, statutory and treble damages as allowed by law, together with restitution and disgorgement of amounts Defendants received for the Affected Products."
Treble damages are a legal remedy that allows a court, in certain cases, to award a plaintiff three times the amount of actual damages determined by a jury. They serve as a deterrent to wrongful conduct and seek to compensate plaintiffs for losses that may be difficult to quantify.
The complaint says the nationwide class is entitled to "compensatory damages and all other relief available under applicable law."
It says Null and the West Virginia subclass are entitled to recover "actual damages or $200 per violation, whichever is greater, together with such equitable relief as the Court considers necessary." It was not immediately clear if the $200 amount sought per violation was for each customer affected or per order made.
Null is seeking a jury trial.
What Is Cyclospora?
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by "frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements," according to the CDC.
Cases of cyclosporiasis, the gastrointestinal illness caused by the parasite, have surged in recent months, with more than 45 states reporting illnesses.
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What to Know About the Outbreak
Federal officials are investigating an outbreak of cyclospora first tied to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week that the scope of that investigation has expanded to nine states to now include Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Previously the CDC’s investigation included five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said last week that they remain focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms sourced from Mexico as the source of that multistate outbreak.
Taylor Farms said earlier this month that it had completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico that were shipped to 27 states. Taco Bell also announced it had "completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce from our restaurants."
But federal health officials have said that other "brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels" could be tied to the outbreak as the investigation continues.
Overall, cyclospora cases across the country have set a record.
Some 45 states have reported domestically acquired cyclospora infections since May 1, according to the CDC.
The CDC's latest surveillance update on July 28 put the number of laboratory-confirmed domestically acquired cases at 6,707, including 423 hospitalizations. No deaths have been reported, the CDC said.
But the total number of people sickened is likely higher than the official tally, given that not all cases are reported, the CDC has noted.
Cyclosporiasis Outbreak
Check out Newsweek's latest coverage:
- Which Fruits and Vegetables Are Safe from Cyclospora Parasite?
- What Kills Cyclospora? Food Safety Tips Amid Explosive Diarrhea Outbreaks
- Map Shows ‘Explosive’ Diarrhea Hotspot as Cases Surge
- Map Shows States Facing Surge in ‘Explosive’ Diarrhea Outbreaks
- Trump CDC Stopped Monitoring Explosive Diarrhea Parasite Before Outbreak
- How Worried Should Americans Be About Cyclosporiasis? Experts Weight In
- Taco Bell Breaks Silence on Cyclospora Outbreaks
- People Told to Cook Food, Make Pies to Avoid ‘Explosive’ Diarrhea Outbreak
- Medicine To Treat ‘Explosive’ Diarrhea Outbreaks Could Cause More Diarrhea
- When to Go to Hospital for Cyclospora Symptoms as CDC Cases Double: ER Doctor
- Cyclospora Isn’t the Only Parasite in Fresh Produce—Experts Warn of Others
- How Long Does Cyclospora Incubate? Symptoms To Watch For, How to Treat It
- Where Does Cyclospora Parasite Come From? How to Protect Yourself
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and Trevor Davies.
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