“Prepared” is the word that gets the pink highlight treatment in a new lawsuit filed in California Superior Court for Solano County on behalf of two victims of a Campylobacter outbreak liked earlier this month to Fairfield, CA restaurant. And the word “prepared,” comes up often in the complaint against Alejandro’s Taqueria, the popular Mexican restaurant located on Texas Street in downtown Fairfield. The restaurant is identified as having manufactured, prepared and sold food products in California; including adulterated food, that was unreasonably dangerous, without changing the defective condition, and which was unfit for human consumption. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Latachianna and Derrick James, both local residents, who dined at the Mexican restaurant for dinner on May 25, 2016 and both tested positive for Campylobacter within days afterward. Alejandro’s Taqueria was at the time forced to close for three days after being linked to a campylobacter outbreak involving at least 32 people in early June. It been back in business since June 11 after the Solano County Environmental Health Department turned up it called “minor violations.” Lab work in the investigation won’t be back until mid-July, which includes samples of cooked foods taken from the restaurant on June 8. Latachianna and Derrick James both sought treatment at Kaiser Permanente in Fairfield and their illnesses required that they miss work. According to lawyers for the James, food is the most common vehicle for the spread of Campylobacter and poultry is the most common food implicated. Sacramento attorneys Stuart C. Talley and Anthony J. Garilli, both with Kershaw Cook and Talley, PC, and nationally known food safety attorney Bill Marler from Seattle, are representing the James. The Plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial for unspecified damages based on strict liability, negligence, negligence per se, and breach of implied warranty. Editor’s Note: Marler is also the founder and publisher of Food Safety News.
