The family of the British ballet dancer who died after suffering a severe allergic reaction to a biscuit containing peanuts has sued the “deplorable” supermarket that sold them to her for “gross negligence”.
Órla Baxendale, 25, originally from Helmshore, East Lancashire, but based in New York City, went into anaphylactic shock and died on January 11 after consuming vanilla Florentine biscuits containing peanuts.
The cookies, which were purchased at a Stew Leonard’s store in Connecticut, were later recalled because the packaging did not have a peanut allergy warning.
His family, in a lawsuit filed last Thursday, has now accused grocer and manufacturer Cookies United of being “careless and negligent” in causing Baxendale’s death.
Both companies are named in the lawsuit, along with several Stew Leonard employees.
Órla Baxendale, 25 (pictured), originally from Helmshore, East Lancashire, but based in New York City, went into anaphylactic shock and died on January 11 after consuming vanilla Florentine biscuits containing peanuts.
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 Waterbury Superior Court. , Connecticut.
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 Waterbury Superior Court. .
The complaint, reviewed by DailyMail.com, claims that Baxendale had a severe peanut allergy and that she, “like all consumers, relied on the manufacturer and seller to properly label the package sold to the general public.”
However, the cookies he consumed “contained, among other things, undeclared peanuts and other known allergens,” despite not being labeled as such, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Cookies United failed to properly identify that the Florentine cookies contained peanuts prior to distribution.
According to the lawsuit, eleven Stew Leonard employees were “notified by email” of the ingredient change, including the “addition of peanuts to the cookie recipe in July 2023, approximately six months before Baxendale’s death.”
Then, in October of that year, the manufacturer shipped a “bulk container” that contained a label stating that the cookies contained allergens, including peanuts.
The lawsuit alleges that the cookies, (pictured) which were purchased at a Stew Leonard’s store in Connecticut, “contained, among other things, undeclared peanuts and other known allergens,” despite not being labeled as such.
The cookies were produced by Long Island-based wholesaler Cookies United and labeled with the Stew Leonard brand. They were stores in Danbury and Newington in Connecticut late last year.
However, Baxendale consumed a cookie that had not been properly labeled to indicate the ingredient change in January 2024.
He went into anaphylactic shock and was administered an EpiPen, but “due to the severity of his allergy, it was ineffective,” the family’s attorney, Marijo C. Adime, said in a statement.
The lawsuit accuses Stew Leonard’s of ignoring manufacturer alerts and alleges the store failed to update product labels once it received notification of an ingredient change.
‘The failure to properly label the package prior to distribution and sale of the Florentine cookies was grossly negligent, willful, reckless, insensitive, indifferent to human life and a wanton violation, as required by law from the manufacturer and seller . adequately declare the ingredients,” the lawsuit reads.
It further alleges that the systems Stew Leonard’s has in place to maintain and update labels are “broken, unreliable, inherently dangerous, unreliable, erratic and deplorable.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary and punitive damages.
DailyMail.com has contacted Stew Leonard’s and Cookies United for comment.
A spokesperson for Stew Leonard’s told The Associated Press on Friday that they could not comment on pending litigation.
The dancer’s family, in a lawsuit filed last Thursday, has now accused grocer and cookie manufacturer Cookies United of being “careless and negligent” in causing Baxendale’s death. In the photo: Órla Baxendale
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary and punitive damages. In the photo: Órla Baxendale
The cookies were produced by Long Island-based wholesaler Cookies United and labeled with the Stew Leonard brand.
They were stores in Danbury and Newington in Connecticut late last year.
Stew Leonard Jr., the retailer’s president and CEO, said in a statement released in January that the supplier switched from soy nuts to peanuts in the recipe without notifying its chief safety officer.
Cookies United had said they notified Stew Leonard’s last July that the product contained peanuts and that all products shipped to the retailer had been labeled accordingly.
The manufacturer, at the time, also claimed that Stew Leonard’s had created the incorrect label.
Peanuts and eggs are among the top nine food allergens identified in the federal law that requires such ingredients to be listed on food packaging.