LOS ANGELES, CA – Three film crew members who became ill with hepatitis A while working on the set of “The Good German” filed a lawsuit yesterday against Silver Grill Location Catering and Soleil Produce, Inc. The suit contends that Los Angeles resident John Tobin, Hollywood resident Richard Putnam, and Woodland Hills resident Richard Rand were sickened after eating a meal served by Silver Grill at a filming location in San Marino, California, on October 3, 2005. According to the suit, the contaminated lettuce was supplied by Soleil Produce. At least 16 other people became ill with hepatitis A infections after eating the meal.
The lawsuit is the second filed against Silver Grill Location Catering in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm that has successfully represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness, and Ralph G. Martinez, a respected Irvine attorney and principal of the Martinez Law Group, Inc.
“Contaminated lettuce has been the source of a number of foodborne illness outbreaks over the last five years,” said R. Drew Falkenstein, an associate attorney at Marler Clark. “In fact, an E. coli outbreak traced to Dole lettuce took place in Minnesota and other states just weeks before my clients became ill. The foodservice industry is aware of the risks associated with fresh produce and needs to do more to protect its consumers.”
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BACKGROUND: Marler Clark has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks since 1993, when William Marler represented the most severely injured victims of the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak. The firm has litigated cases involving foods such as contaminated lettuce, orange juice, green onions, sprouts, cantaloupe, cereal, and ground beef, as well as foods contaminated by improper food handling.