--- title: Shigella lawsuit filed against airline caterer date: 2005-05-19T19:38:00-07:00 author: admin canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/shigella-lawsuit-filed-against-airline-caterer" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Press Releases](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/press-releases) / # Shigella lawsuit filed against airline caterer SEATTLE – Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm internationally known for its representation of foodborne illness victims, filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Ernie Lyon, a Florida man who fell ill after eating contaminated food while on a flight from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Minneapolis, Minnesota in August of 2004. The food that Mr. Lyon consumed was contaminated with Shigella bacteria, a dangerous foodborne pathogen that causes severe gastrointestinal illness. The lawsuit, which was filed in Hawaii circuit court against Gate Gourmet, Inc., a food and beverage company that services the airline industry, alleges that the defendant manufactured and sold contaminated food to several different airlines, causing a widespread Shigella outbreak in late-summer 2004. Gate Gourmet, Inc.’s Honolulu, Hawaii facility recently came under fire from the Food and Drug Administration for numerous federal food safety violations, including pest and vermin problems. “What the FDA found during its investigation was Gate Gourmet’s egregious disregard for the health and safety of the people consuming the company’s food,” said William Marler, managing partner at Marler Clark. “We’re not talking about minor health code violations. We’re talking about investigators finding vermin, food stored at temperatures over fifty degrees higher than what is considered safe, and a ‘pink slimy substance’ in the washing machine. In the dozen years that I have been litigating these cases, this is one of the most shocking reports I have seen.” The Hawaii Department of Health has indicated that Mr. Lyon and as many as several hundred other passengers on twelve flights that departed from the Honolulu Airport August 22 through August 24, 2004, may have become ill as part of this outbreak. Passengers traveling to four countries and twenty-two U.S. states were ultimately confirmed by laboratory testing as having a genetically identical strain of Shigella, all having traveled on flights with meals catered by Gate Gourmet’s Honolulu location. Many more are expected to have been sickened but their illnesses were not confirmed through laboratory testing. \### BACKGROUND: Marler Clark has represented over 1,000 victims of foodborne illness outbreaks since 1993, when William Marler represented Brianne Kiner in her $15.6 million E. coli settlement with Jack in the Box. The firm has litigated on behalf of victims of E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Hepatitis A outbreaks in over 30 states. For more information on Shigella, visit [](http://www.about-shigella.com/)[www.about-shigella.com](http://www.about-shigella.com) and www.shigellablog.com. More about the [Gate Gourmet Shigella outbreak](http://www.marlerclark.com/case_news/view/gate-gourmet-shigella-outbreak-hawaii-nationwide "Gate Gourmet Shigella outbreak") can be found in the Case News area of this site. ### Other Shigella Lawsuits [Shigella at LongHorn sickens 68](https://marlerclark.com/shigella-at-longhorn-sickens-14) [Shigella Outbreak hits Westin Bonventure Hotel - Lawsuit Filed](https://marlerclark.com/shigella-outbreak-hits-westin-bonventure-hotel) [Los Cabos San Lucas Mexican Grill Shigella Outbreak - 60 Sick](https://marlerclark.com/los-cabos-san-lucas-mexican-grill-shigella-outbreak-100-sick) [Investigation of 32 Shigella Illnesses Show Link to Seattle's Tamarind Tree Restaurant](https://marlerclark.com/investigation-of-32-shigella-illnesses-show-link-to-seattles-tamarind-tree-restaurant) [Shigella Lawyers | Marler Clark](https://marlerclark.com/shigella-lawyers-marler-clark) ### Lawsuit updates about foodborne illnesses [Reactive Arthritis Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=reactive-arthritis&year=all) [E. coli Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=e-coli&year=all) [Guillain-Barre Syndrome Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=guillain-barre-syndrome&year=all) [Salmonella Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=salmonella&year=all) [Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=hemolytic-uremic-syndrome&year=all) [Listeria Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=listeria&year=all) [Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=irritable-bowel-syndrome&year=all) [Hepatitis A Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=hepatitis-a&year=all) [Norovirus Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=norovirus&year=all) [Botulism Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=botulism&year=all) [Campylobacter Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=campylobacter&year=all) [Shigella Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=shigella&year=all) [Cyclospora Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=cyclospora&year=all) ### Lawsuits updates by year [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 1998](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=1998) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 1999](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=1999) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2000](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2000) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2001](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2001) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2002](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2002) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2003](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2003) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2004](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2004) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2005](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2005) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2006](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2006) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2007](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2007) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2008](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2008) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2009](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2009) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2010](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2010) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2011](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2011) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2012](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2012) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2013](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2013) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2014](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2014) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2015](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2015) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2016](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2016) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2017](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2017) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2018](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2018) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2019](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2019) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2020](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2020) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2021](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2021) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2022](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2022) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2023](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2023) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2024](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2024) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2025](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2025) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2026](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2026) ##### Get Help #### Affected by an outbreak or recall? 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 ###### [Shigella Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/about-shigella) What is Shigella and how does it cause food poisoning? Recognized worldwide as the most common cause of dysentery, the Shiga bacillus—or Shigella—is a facultatively anaerobic, non-motile gram negative rod... ###### [The Incidence of Shigella Infection](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-incidence) How common are Shigella infections and Shigella outbreaks? The number of shigellosis cases reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has varied over the past several... ###### [The Prevalence of Shigella in Food and Elsewhere](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-prevalence) Large Shigella outbreaks have been traced to contaminated food and water. The CDC estimates that 450,000 to 500,000 total cases of shigellosis occur in the U.S. every year. The CDC... ###### [How is Shigella Infection Spread?](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-transmission) Human cases of Shigella are typically acquired through contact with infected persons or ingestion of food contaminated with Shigella bacteria. As previously noted, Shigella species are transmitted by the fecal-oral... ###### [Symptoms of Shigella Infection](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/shigella/shigella-symptoms-risks) Symptoms of Shigella infection include painful abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and fever. Most people who are infected with Shigella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps after being exposed to the bacteria... ##### Outbreak Database #### Looking for a comprehensive list of outbreaks? 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. [ View Outbreak Database ](https://outbreakdatabase.com)