TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A recently filed lawsuit blames the death of a retired Florida judge on a jar of Jif peanut butter.
The Estate of Robert A. Foster, Jr. sued J.M. Smucker Company and Publix Super Markets on March 17 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, the same venue in which Foster served as a judge for 18 years.
Foster, who left the bench in 2018, died July 16 at age 75. The lawsuit, brought by his son Robert as representative of his estate, alleges the cause was salmonella-tainted Jif made by J.M. Smucker and sold at Publix.
"JM. Smucker owed a duty to adequately test, inspect and assure the quality and safety of 'Jif' peanut butter (when) placing the product into the stream of commerce," the lawsuit says.
"J.M. Smucker owed a duty to adequately notify and warn consumers, including Judge Foster, about the poisonous and potentially lethal nature of the salmonella-tainted 'Jif' peanut butter."
Judge Foster contracted an infection that caused his death as a result of eating the Jif, the lawsuit says. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.
It makes several claims, including strict liability and negligence against both defendants, as well as breach of implied warranty of merchantability against Publix. Foster III and his sister Bonnie make claims for loss of consortium.
Steven Nauman of Morgan & Morgan is the Fosters' lawyer.
An outbreak of salmonella in Jif caused a recall last year of peanut butter that could be traced to a plant in Lexington, Ky.
J.M. Smucker faces a class action lawsuit in Ohio federal court, saying its recall and refund offers cancel the plaintiffs' claims. The litigation does not allege Jif made the plaintiffs sick, only that they would not have bought the peanut butter had they known it contained salmonella.
"Plaintiffs bring claims for products liability under the guise of false advertising, resulting in a fundamental disconnect between their allegations and the causes of action that they bring," Smucker's motion to dismiss filed Feb. 3 says.
"No Plaintiff alleges that the products they personally bought exhibited a defect, nor can they point to a statement by Defendant that is rendered false or misleading by potential Salmonella contamination."