The family of the 25-year-old professional dancer, Orla Baxendale, who died from a severe peanut allergy from eating mislabeled cookies, has filed a lawsuit against Stew Leonard's.
In January, tragedy struck when a 25-year-old professional dancer passed away after consuming cookies that were inaccurately labeled and purchased from the popular grocery store chain, Stew Leonard's.
Presently, legal representatives have initiated a significant wrongful death lawsuit against the company, acting on behalf of Baxendale's estate.
Stew Leonard's Lawsuit From Mislabeled Cookies
The lawsuit contends that Stew Leonard's overlooked prior warnings from the manufacturer and failed to update the cookie ingredient labels as required.
The cookies in question, Florentine cookies bought from Stew Leonard's in Connecticut, were found to have undisclosed peanuts and various other allergens, as indicated in the formal complaint filed on May 23, 2024.
Both Stew Leonard's and the cookie manufacturer, Cookies United, are listed as defendants in the case.
Due to the ongoing litigation, Stew Leonard's chose not to provide comments on the matter. Similarly, Cookies United did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On January 23, 2024, the Connecticut State Department of Consumer Protection issued an alert indicating that Stew Leonard's had recalled both the chocolate and vanilla varieties of the cookies, originally produced by wholesaler Cookies United, due to a labeling error.
The alert also acknowledged that the mislabeled product might have been responsible for a fatality. That same day, Cookies United released a statement and provided documents asserting that they had informed several Stew Leonard's employees of the recipe change in July 2023.
In a subsequent statement on January 25, Stew Leonard's informed customers that the cookies contained undeclared peanuts and eggs, noting that one death might be linked to the mislabeled product.
The statement also mentioned that Stew Leonard's was collaborating with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the supplier to identify the cause of the labeling error.
Customers were advised to return the product to Stew Leonard's customer service for a full refund.
Professional Dancer órla Baxendale
In a video statement from late January, Stew Leonard Jr., CEO of the grocery store chain, revealed that around 500 units of the mislabeled cookies were sold during the holiday season.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection collaborated with the company to ensure all products from Cookies United were removed from store shelves.
Leonard asserted that Cookies United failed to inform the store's chief safety officer about the ingredient changes.
However, a lawyer for Cookies United claimed they had sent emails to 11 Stew Leonard's employees in July 2023, detailing the addition of peanuts to the cookie recipe. According to the complaint, these emails were ignored, and the ingredient labels and packaging were never updated.
The lawsuit argues that Baxendale's death was due to gross negligence and reckless indifference by Stew Leonard's and Cookies United.
The complaint highlights the failure to update the labels despite being notified, describing it as an intentional and wanton violation of consumer rights.
The complaint noted that Stew Leonard's, "ignored the email and never changed the label or the nutrition fact panel and never properly updated the packaging."
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