A Queens woman has filed the first reported class action lawsuit against Boar’s Head Provisions following the company’s mass recall of 7 million pounds of deli meat linked to a deadly listeria outbreak.
In the lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn, Boar’s Head customer Rita Torres says she purchased one of the recalled products but would have avoided it had the company warned consumers about the possible contamination.
The lawsuit appears to be the first proposed class action filed in the wake of the recalls, according to court records.
The class action suit does not involve personal injuries, but focuses on “economic harm,” according to Jason Sultzer, one of Torres’ lawyers.
“There will be other and separate individual cases filed involving personal injury claims,” Sultzer told The Post in a statement.
Torres bought Boar’s Head ham from a ShopRite in Queens, which she would not have purchased if the Florida-based company had warned customers about the potential listeria outbreak, the suit said.
The suit accuses Boar’s Head of “false, misleading and deceptive” marketing regarding the potentially contaminated products prior to the recall.
Boar’s Head did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On July 26, Boar’s Head flagged more than 200,000 pounds of liverwurst and other deli products for recall over concerns of listeria.
The foodborne bacterial illness can be especially serious for pregnant people, people with weakened immune systems and the elderly.
On Tuesday, the company dramatically expanded the recall to include more than 70 products made at the company’s Virginia facility between May and July, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Boar’s Head told its customers to toss the recall products or return them to stores with a receipt for a full refund.
As of Tuesday, 34 people have been sickened in the outbreak across 13 states, including 33 hospitalizations and two deaths, according to the USDA.
Boar’s Head is facing a suit filed by an elderly Missouri couple seeking upward of $25,000 for injuries and damages related to medical expenses and damage to quality of life and “the marital relationship,” according to the complaint filed in St. Louis circuit court.
The deli meat supplier is also facing reputational damage from the large recall, something the National Supermarket Association is trying to separate itself from.
The association advised hundreds of New York City-area supermarkets to yank their “Boar’s Head signage until further notice” after the recall, according to a copy of a memo obtained by The Post.
