I-90 Burger King sued:
Urine in food
Recently filed legal papers claim that about 19 workers were fired in the aftermath of employee contamination of food at a New York state Thruway Burger King in Scottsville ÷ incidents that even included urination on food products.
The lawsuit, reiterating charges that first surfaced in a criminal case against three Burger King employees, alleges that restaurant workers may have been tampering with food for eight months before the contamination came to light.
About 19 people "were terminated when the reprehensible and criminal conduct occurring at the defendant's Burger King restaurant was finally reported by an employee who could no longer sleep at night after learning that the food contamination had escalated from spitting to urination, all the way up to placing lethal poison on food products," allege the court papers, filed on behalf of a Monroe County sheriff's deputy who maintains he suffered severe gastrointestinal injuries after eating a contaminated burger.
The allegations are based on depositions of individuals familiar with the contamination, claim the recently filed court papers.
One Burger King employee was convicted in 2001 of food tampering by spraying degreaser on a Whopper pattie. Another employee pleaded guilty to food tampering and a third was acquitted.
In 2001, Monroe County Sheriffâs Deputy Gamaliel Dominguez and his wife, Clara, sued Burger King and HMS Host Corp., which manages restaurants at Thruway service areas. The couple sued for $15.5 million in state Supreme Court.
Court papers show that the two sides continue to scrap over what evidence should be provided to lawyers and whether tests are needed to determine the validity of the allegations that Dominguez is ill. No trial date has been set.
Jane Kuppermann, a Syracuse lawyer representing Burger King and HMS, said that she could not comment on the lawsuit.
She has maintained in court papers that lawyers for the Dominguez couple have engaged in a legal fishing expedition, seeking transcripts of advertisements about Thruway restaurants. The lawsuit has nothing to do with advertising campaigns, and only focuses on whether Dominguez is ill and whether Burger King was responsible, the court papers say.
Rochester lawyer Robert Brenna, who represents the couple, has alleged in court papers that there may be a radio advertising campaign designed to place the Thruway operations in a positive light on the eve of a possible trial.
Former Burger King employees, deposed as part of the lawsuit, have painted a picture of a restaurant where supervision was scant and contamination of food products rife, the court papers state.
Some of those who were deposed "have testified to the facts that 60 to 100 sandwich patties were broiled after having been contaminated by urine; that at least one employee saw another employee spitting on a burger which was served to the public; that three managers determined there was inadequate supervision at the subject Burger King restaurant at times; and that one of those managers was cut as a cost savings measure."
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/1110NM2AC4O_burger101_news.shtml
Urine in food
Recently filed legal papers claim that about 19 workers were fired in the aftermath of employee contamination of food at a New York state Thruway Burger King in Scottsville ÷ incidents that even included urination on food products.
The lawsuit, reiterating charges that first surfaced in a criminal case against three Burger King employees, alleges that restaurant workers may have been tampering with food for eight months before the contamination came to light.
About 19 people "were terminated when the reprehensible and criminal conduct occurring at the defendant's Burger King restaurant was finally reported by an employee who could no longer sleep at night after learning that the food contamination had escalated from spitting to urination, all the way up to placing lethal poison on food products," allege the court papers, filed on behalf of a Monroe County sheriff's deputy who maintains he suffered severe gastrointestinal injuries after eating a contaminated burger.
The allegations are based on depositions of individuals familiar with the contamination, claim the recently filed court papers.
One Burger King employee was convicted in 2001 of food tampering by spraying degreaser on a Whopper pattie. Another employee pleaded guilty to food tampering and a third was acquitted.
In 2001, Monroe County Sheriffâs Deputy Gamaliel Dominguez and his wife, Clara, sued Burger King and HMS Host Corp., which manages restaurants at Thruway service areas. The couple sued for $15.5 million in state Supreme Court.
Court papers show that the two sides continue to scrap over what evidence should be provided to lawyers and whether tests are needed to determine the validity of the allegations that Dominguez is ill. No trial date has been set.
Jane Kuppermann, a Syracuse lawyer representing Burger King and HMS, said that she could not comment on the lawsuit.
She has maintained in court papers that lawyers for the Dominguez couple have engaged in a legal fishing expedition, seeking transcripts of advertisements about Thruway restaurants. The lawsuit has nothing to do with advertising campaigns, and only focuses on whether Dominguez is ill and whether Burger King was responsible, the court papers say.
Rochester lawyer Robert Brenna, who represents the couple, has alleged in court papers that there may be a radio advertising campaign designed to place the Thruway operations in a positive light on the eve of a possible trial.
Former Burger King employees, deposed as part of the lawsuit, have painted a picture of a restaurant where supervision was scant and contamination of food products rife, the court papers state.
Some of those who were deposed "have testified to the facts that 60 to 100 sandwich patties were broiled after having been contaminated by urine; that at least one employee saw another employee spitting on a burger which was served to the public; that three managers determined there was inadequate supervision at the subject Burger King restaurant at times; and that one of those managers was cut as a cost savings measure."
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/1110NM2AC4O_burger101_news.shtml
