Major Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Stew Leonard's and Cookies United for Deadly Peanut Allergy Incident Involving Órla Baxendale at Old Westbury Gardens

Waterbury, CT - July 4, 2024 - The family of Orla Baxendale, a 25-year-old professional dancer, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against grocery store chain Stew Leonard’s and cookie manufacturer Cookies United.

The incident that took place in January 2024 has caused a lot of anger and concern about issues related to food labeling.

The Incident

Órla Baxendale, a talented dancer who performed lively dance moves, died of an anaphylactic reaction on January 11, 2024, due to a Florentine cookie from Stew Leonard’s, which was mislabeled.

The actual cookie was produced by Cookies United, and it had peanuts that were not listed on the label. However, Baxendale had a severe allergy, and even with an EpiPen, she died quickly and could not be saved.

The Lawsuit

Baxendale was a regular employee working at Stew Leonard’s, a large dairy and meat retailer in Connecticut, while Stew Leonard’s was a customer of Cookies United, a bakery and cookie manufacturer in New Jersey.

The family’s attorneys argue that it was this improper labeling that caused Baxendale’s death to occur due to the lack of proper labeling.

The suit further states that the defendants received information about the change of the ingredient in the product over six months ago but never bothered to change the labeling.

Responses and Statements

In his response to the lawsuit, the CEO of Stew Leonard’s Stew Leonard Jr. offered his condolences to the Baxendale family but stated that the company never received any notice about the change in the recipe.

Cookies United strongly dismissed this, stating that Stew Leonard’s was fully aware that the cookies contain peanuts.

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Regulatory Actions and Investigations

Subsequent to this, Stew Leonard pulled out the chocolate type of the Florentine cookies and the vanilla type of the same cookies.

The authorities involved in the labeling error include the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Stew Leonard agreed to cooperate with these agencies and the supplier in the event of similar incidents.

Legal and Public Reactions

This case has attracted a lot of attention and reactions from the legal community and the general public.

Lawyers also stress on the responsibility of the food producers and sellers to label the products correctly, particularly those containing ingredients that are considered allergens and can lead to life-threatening complications.

The consumer organizations are urging for the improvement of the legislation and for the better implementation of the existing legislation regarding the food safety.

The complaint filed by Baxendale's family outlines several critical points:

Broken, Unreliable, and Deadly Labeling and Packaging Practices:

The negligence lawsuit states that the systems used at Stew Leonard’s to ensure proper labels were maintained and updated were fatally flawed and posed a threat to customers.

Several recalls were conducted after Baxendale's death to suggest that there were more problems than met the eye.

Negligence and Reckless Indifference:

The supermarket defendants have not changed the packaging of the cookies even though Cookies United LLC informed them in July 2023 that the ingredients had been altered.

This negligence is said to have led to the fatal accident, and this is why it has been mentioned as a cause of the accident.

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Failed Responsibility:

The complaint explains how Stew Leonard’s and its employees failed to heed numerous notifications that the ingredient had been changed and how the product’s labels and nutrition facts panels contained peanut information.

Cover-up and False Statements:

After the event, Stew Leonard sought to shift responsibility to Cookies United LLC in a press release, which turned out to be unsound.

Cookies United thanked them with their press releases of how they have conveyed their message regarding the change of ingredients.

Regulatory Violations:

The defendants are said to have acted in violation of federal and state food safety statutes, FDA Model Food Code, through a failure to appropriately label the Florentine cookies.