PHILADELPHIA – A Villanova University student allegedly forced into hiatus from his education due to illness resulting from consuming contaminated food has filed suit against both the school and Chipotle Mexican Grill for his debilitating injuries.
Brendan Kenny of Mendham, N.J. filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Oct. 27 versus Chipotle Mexican Grill of Ardmore and related entities, plus Villanova University.
On Dec. 4, 2015, Kenny, then 19, was a freshman at Villanova University and a member of the school’s NCAA Division I lacrosse team. That same day, Kenny purchased and consumed chicken, rice and beans from a Chipotle Mexican Grill location on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore.
The following day, Dec. 5, 2015, Kenny purchased and consumed bacon and a biscuit from The Court at Donahue, located in the Villanova University dining hall.
But unbeknownst to Kenny, one or more of the food products he had purchased and consumed at the Chipotle restaurant or the school dining hall contained one or more food-borne protozoa, and therefore was unsafe for human consumption, he says.
On Dec. 5, 2015, Kenny says he became severely ill, suffering from symptoms including, but not limited to, extreme vomiting, severe stomach cramping and pain, chest pain, palpitations, headache, chills, fatigue, weight loss, insomnia and other injuries. By the early morning hours of Dec. 6, 2015, Kenny’s symptoms worsened drastically, requiring him to visit a hospital emergency room. There, he was diagnosed with amoebiasis, a life-altering condition caused by infection by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica.
Due to the “ongoing and relentless illness and pain”, Kenny claims he was forced to take a prolonged leave of absence from his enrollment at Villanova University.
The plaintiff says the defendants either knew or should have known that their food was contaminated with pathogenic protozoa and thus not fit for retail sale and human consumption, among numerous other charges.
For multiple counts of strict liability, negligence, negligence per se and breach of warranty, the plaintiff is seeking damages, jointly and severally, in excess of $50,000, plus interest, costs and delay damages pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. Section 238.
The plaintiff is represented by Robert J. Mongeluzzi, Andrew R. Duffy and E. Douglas Disandro, Jr. of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 171003544
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com