WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) – The estate of a young dancer who died after eating a mislabeled peanut cookie has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming that the failure to properly label the packaging was gross negligence.
Órla Ruth Baxendale, 25, died Jan. 11 after eating a Florentine cookie sold by supermarket chain Stew Leonard’s and suffering an anaphylactic reaction, according to the lawsuit. Baxendale, who had a severe peanut allergy, had moved to New York City from England to pursue a career as a dancer and was in “the prime of her life,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court. Court in Waterbury.
The batch of Christmas cookies sold late last year at Stew Leonard’s stores in Danbury and Newington, Connecticut, were later recalled. The cookies were produced by Long Island-based wholesaler Cookies United and branded Stew Leonard’s, state officials said.
Both companies are named in the lawsuit, along with several of Stew Leonard’s employees.
Failure to properly label the cookie package prior to sale “was grossly negligent, willful, reckless, callous, indifferent to human life, and a willful violation, as the manufacturer and seller were required by law to correctly declare the ingredients” , the lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for Stew Leonard’s said they could not comment on pending litigation.
Cookies United’s general counsel did not respond to an email seeking comment Friday evening.
Stew Leonard’s said in January that the supplier had switched the recipe from soynuts to peanuts without notifying their Chief Safety Officer.
Cookies United had said it notified Stew Leonard’s last July that the product contained peanuts and that all products shipped to the retailer were labeled accordingly.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary and punitive damages.
