New York Times
By Kareem Fahim

Lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit yesterday against a New Jersey meat company whose hamburgers were linked to a virulent strain of E. coli, prompting a huge recall.

At least 28 people in eight states have fallen ill from the bacteria linked to the beef, and at least 10 people have been hospitalized since July, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One patient developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a kind of kidney failure. Those affected include six people in New Jersey, eight people in New York, and eight people in Pennsylvania, the agency said.

On Sept. 29, the Topps Meat Company announced a recall of 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef patties produced by its plant in Elizabeth, N.J., that had been distributed to grocery stores and food service companies. It was among the largest meat recalls in recent decades, and the company’s first recall in its 67 years, according to health officials and a company spokeswoman. Earlier last week, the United States Department of Agriculture told Topps to suspend production of ground meat.

The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in New York, seeks compensation from Topps and a number of stores that stock its frozen meat, including Wal-Mart, ShopRite and Pathmark. The suit names four plaintiffs, according to Robert K. Jenner, a Baltimore lawyer.

One plaintiff, Jimmy Patton of Springdale, Ark., bought a bag of Sam’s Choice Backyard Gourmet Beef Burgers on Sept. 15 from Wal-Mart, the suit said. Seven days later he cooked and ate the beef. By Sept. 26, the suit said, Mr. Patton “began exhibiting symptoms of E. coli exposure, including but not limited to severe abdominal cramps, severe bloody diarrhea and fatigue.”

Michele Williams, a spokeswoman for Topps, declined to comment on pending litigation.

Karen Meleta, a spokeswoman for ShopRite, said that the company had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit, and could not comment on it. ShopRite, which has 200 supermarkets in five states, has removed Topps meat from all of its stores and started contacting customers who bought the recalled meat using a ShopRite loyalty card. A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said the company had not yet seen the lawsuit. Representatives of Pathmark and Rastelli Fine Foods, also named in the suit, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Topps is a meat processor, and does not slaughter animals, according to Ms. Williams. Health officials are investigating the company’s suppliers as they search for the origin of the tainted meat.

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