Two more lawsuits have been filed against the Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas Inc. a fter an employee allegedly contaminated food at the company’s former Leawood location .
Diago Fayne of Johnson County and Kasey Gilbert of El Dorado Springs, Missouri, f iled separate lawsuits in Johnson County District Court last week, bringing the number of customers who have sued after claiming to have fallen ill after eating at the Leawood location to 61, including two children.
According to court records, 30 lawsuits now have been filed against the Hereford House after the Johnson County District Attorney charged 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson with allegedly contaminating food with bodily fluids while he worked at the former Leawood restaurant between March 26 and April 28.
In June, prosecutors filed additional charges. Hanson now faces 22 counts of criminal threat for allegedly contaminating food, one count of criminal damage and 10 counts of sexual exploration of a child for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse materials.
Hanson is being held on a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing at the end of September.
Hereford House closed the Leawood restaurant at 5001 Town Center Drive in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza in early August after the much-publicized incident led to financial problems.
After troubled Leawood restaurant closes, Hereford House faces four new lawsuits
Customers say they got sick after eating at Hereford House
In the new lawsuits, both Fayne and Gilbert contend they fell ill after eating at the restaurant on separate dates. Their allegations are similar to those in the previous lawsuits, contending that Hereford House was negligent and breached an implied warranty that its food would be safe. They also include a strict liability claim, alleging that the contaminated food was a defective product that the restaurant served to customers.
Fayne also alleges that Hereford House violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
In answers to previous lawsuits, Hereford House denied being negligent and claims it did not know Hanson was allegedly contaminating food until he was arrested on April 25. Hereford House also contends that the alleged contamination resulted from Hanson’s alleged criminal conduct, which was outside his scope of employment.
Fayne contends in his lawsuit that he ate dinner at the Hereford House on April 9. Within hours of leaving, he experienced extreme nausea, stomach pain and other symptoms. Because of his symptoms, he went to the emergency room at Belton Regional Medical Center the next day. Fayne contends his illness was consistent with food poisoning.
Since becoming aware of the alleged food contamination, Fayne contends he continues to experience anxiety, distress and fear of future illness.
In her lawsuit, Gilbert contends she ate dinner at the Hereford House on March 29 and shortly after began to fall ill, including experiencing nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Gilbert continued to feel sick the next day, with the symptoms consistent with food poisoning.
Gilbert contends that after becoming aware of the alleged contamination of food at the restaurant, she suffered additional emotional and psychological distress. The lawsuit says Gilbert continues to experience anxiety distress, including the fear of future illness or medical harm.
Hereford House to close Leawood restaurant where former worker allegedly contaminated food
Local News
Comments / 0