--- title: Genetic Testing Links Salmonella in Happy Hens Barns to the San Diego Outbreak Strain; Marler Clark Amends First Lawsuit and Will File Two More on Tuesday date: 2026-09-04T22:11:00-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/genetic-testing-links-salmonella-in-happy-hens-barns-to-the-san-diego-outbreak-strain-marler-clark-amends-first-lawsuit-and-will-file-two-more-on-tuesday" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Press Releases](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/press-releases) / # Genetic Testing Links Salmonella in Happy Hens Barns to the San Diego Outbreak Strain; Marler Clark Amends First Lawsuit and Will File Two More on Tuesday *San Diego County reports that FDA found Salmonella in two of seven hen houses and that state health officials recommended a voluntary recall the farm has not issued. Twenty-three people are sick and seven have been hospitalized. Marler Clark is calling on Happy Hens to recall every egg that may be contaminated.* **SAN DIEGO, September 4, 2026 —** Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, will file a First Amended Complaint on Tuesday, September 8, in the first lawsuit brought over the Salmonella outbreak linked to Ramona Family Naturals Market and Eben-Haezer’s Happy Hens. The amendment adds genetic evidence San Diego County announced this afternoon. The firm will file two additional lawsuits the same day for two more residents who were hospitalized in the outbreak. In a [release published this afternoon](https://www.countynewscenter.com/salmonella-dna-found-on-farm-tied-to-ramona-outbreak/), the County reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration collected samples inside the Happy Hens hen houses in Ramona beginning August 17, that Salmonella was found in two of the seven houses tested, and that genetic testing linked the Salmonella from the farm to the strains from ill San Diegans. The County further reported that the California Department of Public Health provided those results to the owners of Happy Hens and recommended that the farm issue a voluntary egg recall. As of today, no recall has been issued. Testing of eggs distributed by the farm is still pending. The outbreak now stands at 23 confirmed and probable cases with seven hospitalizations, up from the 13 cases and four hospitalizations the County [first reported on July 28](https://www.countynewscenter.com/salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-ramona-deli/) and the 21 cases it reported on [August 17](https://www.countynewscenter.com/ramona-salmonella-outbreak-grows/). Cases have been identified in La Mesa, Del Mar, Ramona and Jamul, and one in Riverside County. **Marler Clark is asking Happy Hens to recall every egg that may be contaminated, and to publish the list of the grocery stores, farmers markets, restaurants and other buyers that received them.** A voluntary recall is the first step in the process, not the only one. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, when FDA determines there is a reasonable probability that a food is adulterated and that eating it will cause serious adverse health consequences, the agency must first give the responsible party an opportunity to cease distribution and recall the product. If the company declines, FDA may order it to stop distribution and notify everyone holding the product, hold an informal hearing, and issue a recall order. [21 U.S.C. § 350l](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/350l). California followed that sequence to its conclusion nine months ago. After CDPH and the California Department of Food and Agriculture inspected an egg operation in Dixon, collected samples, and matched one of them by whole genome sequencing to the strain in sick people, the firm recalled and [CDPH issued its own consumer warning](https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR25-025.aspx) naming the brand, the handler code and the sell-by dates. Sixty-three Californians were sickened in that outbreak and thirteen were hospitalized. “For six weeks, the answer to every question about this farm was that nothing from the farm had ever tested positive. That answer is gone. The state has the sequence, the state has made the request, and the eggs are still in people’s refrigerators. Happy Hens should recall every egg that could be contaminated, and it should do it today,” said William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. “Holding product back is not the same thing as a recall. A hold protects the eggs still sitting at the farm. A recall reaches the carton that is already in a kitchen in La Mesa or Del Mar, and that is the only carton that can still put somebody in the hospital,” Marler said. “California did this correctly at Vega Farms last December — inspect, sample, sequence, recall, and tell the public what to look for. The same state agency has the same kind of evidence here and has asked for the same result. Nobody has explained why this outbreak should be the exception,” Marler said. **The lawsuits** Marler Clark filed the first case in this outbreak on August 18, 2026, in San Diego County Superior Court, on behalf of Whitney Hight of Ramona and her husband, Casey Hight. Ms. Hight bought and ate the market’s Ramona Red chicken salad on June 25, became ill two days later, and tested positive for Salmonella on July 3. The First Amended Complaint to be filed Tuesday adds the County’s findings announced today — the two positive hen houses, the genetic match to the patient strain, and the recall recommendation and the response to it — along with other facts developed since the original filing. Two new complaints will be filed the same day, both naming Ramona Family Naturals, Inc. and Eben-Haezer’s Happy Hens as defendants, with Frederic L. Gordon of San Diego serving as local counsel. Julie Dye is a registered nurse with nineteen years of experience and the nurse educator of the emergency department at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. She ate the market’s apple walnut chicken salad during the week of June 21. She was admitted with septic shock and acute kidney failure, spent seven days in the hospital, and was discharged on her fifty-first birthday. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer weeks earlier, and the surgery scheduled for July 2 had to be postponed. Virginia Ann Terrell ate the market’s egg salad and tuna salad, and had also purchased Happy Hens eggs directly for years. She became ill on June 28 and was seen in the emergency department on July 1. The complaints allege that California law required the market to substitute pasteurized eggs for raw shell eggs in foods that are not thoroughly cooked. [Health and Safety Code section 114012](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=114012) names mayonnaise expressly, and the only lawful alternative is a written variance from the local enforcement agency. The complaints further allege that Happy Hens, which operates well above the 3,000-hen threshold that triggers both [California’s egg safety rule](https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/3-CCR-1350) and the [federal shell egg rule](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/118.6), shipped eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis into the retail and food service supply. Anyone who became ill after eating undercooked eggs in San Diego County should see a physician, ask for a stool culture, and report the illness to the County Department of Environmental Health and Quality at (858) 505-6814. **About Marler Clark** [Marler Clark](https://www.marlerclark.com/), The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of foodborne illness. The firm has represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products caused serious injury and death, in outbreaks involving E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, hepatitis A, norovirus and Cyclospora. William Marler founded the firm after representing children injured in the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak and is the subject of the book and Emmy Award–winning Netflix documentary *Poisoned*. The firm publishes [Food Safety News](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/) and [Marler Blog](https://www.marlerblog.com/). **Media Contact** William D. Marler, Managing Partner Marler Clark, Inc., PS 180 Olympic Drive S.E., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (206) 346-1888 · 1-800-884-9840 · bmarler@marlerclark.com ### Other Salmonella Lawsuits [Ramona Family Naturals Market and Happy Hens Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuits](https://marlerclark.com/ramona-family-naturals-market-and-happy-hens-salmonella-outbreak-lawsuits) [Jalapeño Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuits: Chipotle, QDOBA and Coast Citrus Distributors — 431 Sick in 32 States](https://marlerclark.com/chipotle-linked-to-salmonella-outbreak-tied-to-peppers) [Egg Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 134 in 18 States](https://marlerclark.com/egg-salmonella-outbreak-sickens-98-in-17-states) [18 Sick with Salmonella from Moringa Capsules](https://marlerclark.com/18-sick-with-salmonella-from-moringa-capsules) [64 with Salmonella tied to Oysters](https://marlerclark.com/64-with-salmonella-tied-to-oysters) [Vega Farms Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 63](https://marlerclark.com/vega-farms-salmonella-outbreak-sickens-63) [Green Supplement causes Salmonella Outbreak](https://marlerclark.com/green-supplement-causes-salmonella-outbreak) [Salmonella Outbreak tied to Metabolic Meals](https://marlerclark.com/salmonella-outbreak-tied-to-metabolic-meals) [Kentucky Salmonella outbreak linked to Ramsey’s Diners and Missy’s Pies](https://marlerclark.com/kentucky-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-ramseys-diners-and-missys-pies) [Salmonella Egg Outbreak sickens 63 in California](https://marlerclark.com/salmonella-egg-outbreak-sickens-63-in-california) [Cucumbers with Salmonella - 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The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [Salmonella Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/salmonella/about-salmonella) What is Salmonella and how does it cause food poisoning? The term Salmonella refers to a specific group of gram-negative bacteria with the potential to cause gastrointestinal distress and other... ###### [The Incidence of Salmonella Infections](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/salmonella/the-incidence-of-salmonella-infections) Typhoidal Salmonella Salmonella enterica serotypes Typhi, Sendai, and Paratyphi A, B, or C are found exclusively in humans. 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