Panera Halts Sales of “Charged” Lemonade Drinks Following Lawsuits Claiming Caffeine Overdose Deaths -- UPDATED

May 13, 2024  [Update at the end below]

Last December  I reported on several lawsuits filed against Panera Bread Co. alleging it should be liable for the deaths of customers who suffered cardiac arrest after drinking Panera's "charged lemonade" which allegedly contained more than 300 ml of caffeine at the time.  See here and here.

Today, I am writing to report that Panera has decided to stop selling the product in question.  As reported in AboutLawsuits.com, 

Reports suggest that Panera Bread will no longer sell its “charged” lemonade products, after at least two consumer deaths were linked to excessive levels of caffeine in some of the drinks, leading to wrongful death lawsuits by the families.

Panera Charged Lemonade was introduced in 2022, featuring high levels of caffeine marketed as an alternative to coffee or energy drinks. However, at least two wrongful death lawsuits were filed against Panera last year, claiming that high levels of caffeine in the beverage led to fatal heart attacks or other heart complications.

While Panera claimed their charged lemonade as plant-based and clean, a 30oz lemonade could contain up to 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is the equivalent of four cups of coffee or three-and-a-half 12-oz cans of Red Bull. In addition, since Panera’s employees mix the lemonade, caffeine levels can vary drastically in different drinks, potentially providing potentially dangerous amounts for some consumers, especially those with certain pre-existing conditions.

Various news reports now indicate that employees are now being told that Panera Charged Lemonade will be phased out, and the chain is no longer ordering some key ingredients used to mix the products in stores.  

Go here for the full story. 

UPDATE 10/13/24:  The Hill is reporting that Panera has settled one of the lawsuits.  See here.

Lawsuit filed against OceanGate, the company involved in the submersible implosion on the way to the Titanic

You may recall that last year a controversial company named OceanGate was involved in an accident that resulted in the death of a number of people in a submersible on the way to visiting the remains of Titanic.  If not, google it, it was all over the news.  I say "controversial" because following the news of the disappearance of the submersible, and the long rescue attempt, news surfaced about the very questionable - to say the least - practices of the company, including reports that documented its reckless handling of safety issues.  (There was a 60 Minutes segment, among many others.  Some of those programs are available on YouTube.  See here and here for example.)

Given this uncovered safety - or lack thereof - history, it is not surprising that the family of a French citizen who died in the implosion has filed wrongful death lawsuit against OceanGate, which, also not surprisingly, has ceased operations.

You can read about the newly filed claim in The Guardian, Courthouse News Service, and NPR and The Hill.

Panera faces second wrongful death lawsuit related to its ‘Charged Lemonade’

 About a week ago I reported that a recently filed lawsuit against Panera Bread Co. alleges it should be liable for the death of a young woman who suffered cardiac arrest after drinking Panera's "charged lemonade" which allegedly contained more than 300 ml of caffeine at the time.  

Now comes news that a second wrongful death lawsuit (on behalf of the beneficiaries of a 46-year old man) based on similar allegations has been filed in Delaware.  The Hill has the story.  NPR also has coverage.

Panera Bread Co sued for wrongful death allegedly caused by Panera's highly caffeinated lemonade

December 4, 2023

Back in 2012-2013 there was a lot of discussion on possible claims for damages caused by "high energy" (read: highly caffeinated) drinks.  Go here and scroll down to refresh your memory.

The topic is now back in the news.  A recently filed lawsuit against Panera Bread Co. alleges it should be liable for the death of a young woman who suffered cardiac arrest after drinking Panera's "charged lemonade" which allegedly contained more than 300 ml of caffeine at the time.  

The Legal Eagle YouTube channel has a detailed explanation of the case.

UPDATE 12/10/23:

Additional coverage on the case at The Legal Examiner 

A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in Delaware.  See here.

Teacher can sue school district system for injuries suffered when a 6 year old, first grade, student shot her

In an important, and somewhat surprising, decision, a state judge has ruled that a teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student in Virginia can proceed with a $40 million lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators.  

The issue in the case was whether the claim should be considered to be a claim for a work related injury. If so, the claim could only be brought as a workers’ compensation claim which would have provided much lower compensation for the plaintiff.

Given the ruling, the plaintiff can proceed with the torts claim she filed in court, which asked for $40 million in damages. 

The judge based its decision on the conclusion that the plaintiff's injuries “did not arise out of her employment” and therefore did not “fall within the exclusive provisions of workers’ compensation coverage.”  The judge also concluded that “[t]he danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher.”

You can read more about the story Courthouse Network News, NPR and The Hill.

As the case moves forward now, I expect it will raise issues related to intervening causes, proximate cause, and governmental immunity.  Stay tuned!

Passengers sue Alaska Airlines for emotional distress caused by off duty pilot's attempt to shut down an airplane's engines

Three passengers who claimed to have suffered emotional distress as a result of a recent incident in an Alaska Airlines flight have filed a complaint against the airline, and have asked for the case to be recognized as a class action.  The claim is based on the incident in which an Alaska Airlines flight that was nearly downed due to an alleged attempt by an off-duty pilot to shut down the engines last month have filed a class-action suit against the airline.  The lawsuit alleges that the airline did not properly follow its policy by allowing the off duty pilot to fly in the cockpit’s jump seat, despite him admitting that he was not right of mind.  

For the story on the original incident, go here.  For more on the recently filed complaint, go here.

I do not understand why this claim would be considered to be a class action, but we'll have to wait and see what happens to that request.

Family members of former NHL player sue the NHL for wrongful death

The family of deceased former Chicago Blackhawks player Steve Montador have sued the National Hockey League in Cook County court, claiming it encouraged Montador to get into fist fights on the ice, which resulted in brain damage before his death.  You can read the complaint here.

Man Falsely Arrested Because of Facial Recognition Software Error Sues Detroit -- UPDATED

Monday, April 19, 2021

A man who was wrongly arrested has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit over his wrongful arrest, which he says was caused by faulty facial recognition technology.  Courthouse News Service has the story here.

According to the lawsuit, people of color are up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified using the technology than white men because the algorithms were created using primarily Caucasian faces which creates an unfair database.

Other cities, including Boston and San Francisco, have banned the use of facial-recognition technology.

UPDATE 4/26/21:  TechDirt has more on the story here.

Man misidentified by facial recognition software sues for false imprisonment and violation of civil rights

Man who was misidentified by facial recognition software and subjected to police interrogation sues a city in New Jersey, its police department, and a prosecutor for false arrest, false imprisonment and violation of his civil rights.  Go here for the story.

Trump campaign sues CNN

A few days ago, I reported that the Trump campaign had filed lawsuits against the NY Times and the Washington Post (here and here).  Today, the news is that they have followed up with a case against CNN.  TechDirt, which has referred to the claims as "laughable SLAPP suits" has the story here.

Trump campaign sues Washington Post

Last week I commented on the fact that the Trump campaign had filed a claim against the New York Times for defamation based on an Op-Ed piece.  See here.

Today I am here to tell you that they are at it again, having filed another (essentially the same) lawsuit this time against the Washington Post.

Marking what he calls a "less than noble moment," one commentator concludes that "the lawsuit is weak and unlikely to succeed."  See here.

Courthouse News Service, Jurist and Reuters have more on the story.

Trump campaign sues New York Times for defamation

Donald J Trump for President, Inc. (the official name of Trump's reelection campaign) filed suit against the New York Times for libel last Wednesday claiming defamation by the author of an Op-ed piece.  According to the complaint, the plaintiff's reputation was damaged by statements in the opinion article that there was an “overreaching deal between the Putin Oligarchy and the Trump campaign to help the campaign against Hilary Clinton.”

The reaction I have seen to the complaint has been consistent in that it is almost certainly guaranteed to fail, for the most part, because the article represents an opinion rather than an assertion of fact.  It has also been criticized as mere political hyperbole, not a complaint based on actual facts.

I agree that the case is likely to fail, although I think it can be argued that some of the statements in the piece can be read to assert facts rather than opinion.

What is more interesting to me is something else.  I wonder if the plaintiff's lawyers realize that if the case is not dismissed on a motion to dismiss and proceeds to discovery, the newspaper could serve Trump with a subpoena to appear in a deposition as part of discovery.  That would be fun to watch.

For comments on the complaint, check out the following:

Jonathan Turley ("The selection of an opinion piece makes this case especially difficult. . . .  In my view, the column is protected speech under the First Amendment.")

New York Personal Injury Law Blog ("First off, the complaint doesn’t start well as it’s supposed to be written with actual facts. This one is chock full of political hyperbole. . . . And most folks with functioning neurons — and I think most of our judges have them — know that when that kind of nonsense appears in a complaint it’s to mask the emptiness of the complaint.")

Courthouse News Service

Politico 

The Daily Beast

More than 100 families of fallen members of the military sue defense contractors alleging they funded the Taliban, which resulted in the deaths of their relatives

In a very interesting development, NPR is reporting that more than 100 families are suing several major defense contractors alleging they made "protection payments" to the Taliban which constitutes funding funding terrorism under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act.

I am not familiar with the exact content of this Act, but given the complaint I am guessing it recognizes a cause of action for those who can allege that a defendant funded a terrorist group whose conduct causes an injury to the plaintiff (or decedent).  According to the complaint the "protection payments aided and abetted terrorism by directly funding an al-Qaeda-backed Taliban insurgency that killed and injured thousands of Americans."

The 288 page complaint is available here.

According to one expert, paying insurgents is "pretty universal" among defense contractors because it is the only way to get the supplies needed for their operations.  In contrast, the complaint argues that the defendants put the decedent's lives in danger in order to save money:  "it was cheaper to buy off the Taliban than it would have been to invest in the security necessary to mitigate the terrorists' threats."

News about vaping products keep piling up

Here are a few bits of news related to vaping:

The American Medical Association has called for an immediate ban on all electronic cigarettes and vaping devices.

Yet another complaint has been filed against the manufacturer of vaping products.  In this one, an 11-year old child alleges to have developed a nicotine addiction from JUUL, indicating that the manufacturer’s aggressive marketing practices not caused vaping problems among high school and middle school students, but also ensnared children still in elementary school.  The story is here.

A new study suggests that JUUL products deliver much higher amounts of nicotine than other e-cigarettes, increasing the risk of addiction and other health problems.  Story here.

California sues JUUL Labs

California and the city of Los Angeles sued e-cigarette maker Juul Labs on Monday, claiming the company caused a public health crisis by targeting teens with fruity, fun flavored vaping products and did not verify the age of its customers for online sales.  Here is the full story.  Bloomberg law podcast has a 7 minute comment on the claim here.

More news related to JUUL nicotine products

In a complaint filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, 20 year-old Wayne Childs, Jr. argues that he and potentially millions of other young adults and teens in the United States were victims of an “orchestrated effort” by the makers of JUUL, which has resulted in widespread “JUULing” addictions due to high levels of nicotine delivered by the e-cigarettes.  That story is here.

Meanwhile, the U.S. District Judge recently appointed to preside over all federal JUUL addiction lawsuits has indicated that he intends to move the litigation forward in a quick and efficient manner, given the urgency and gravity of the significant public health concerns that are raised in the cases.  That story is here.

Finally, here is a story about a different type of lawsuit the manufacturers are now facing: "The makers of JUUL e-cigarettes face a growing number of nicotine addiction lawsuits, not just from teens and parents, but also from school districts that have become the “front line” in a battle against the growing teen vaping epidemic in the United States.  Over the last month, several districts nationwide have filed JUUL lawsuits, alleging that the manufacturer’s marketing tactics specifically targeted teens, resulting in widespread underage nicotine addiction."  You can read that story here.

Another lawsuit against the makers of JUUL vaping products

Yesterday I reported on a class action filed against the manufacturers of JUUL vaping products.  Today, there is news of another lawsuit, this one an individual product liability claim brought by a 19 year old in Colorado.  Go here for a copy of the complaint.  Go here for more general information on the case.

Class action filed against manufacturers of JUUL vaping products

AboutLawsuits is reporting that a complaint was filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee against the makers of JUUL vaping products arguing that the defendants intentionally exploited teens to create a new generation of nicotine-addicted customers.

Go here for a copy of the complaint.

Yet another lawsuit fled against 3M related to faulty earplugs

If you have been following the blog recently, you know I have following the 3M Combat Arms Earplug lawsuits pending throughout the federal court system. My most recent posts are here and here and here.

Now, here is the latest.  According to allegations raised in a recently filed product liability lawsuit, 3M Company ignored warning signs that its Combat Arms earplugs could damage the hearing of military personnel as part of an effort to win and maintain lucrative government contracts.

AboutLawsuits has more details.

Podcast on e-cigarettes, vaping claims, and regulation

Yesterday I posted a note about a new case filed against the manufacturer of a popular e-cigarette product.

Here is a link to a podcast on Ringler Radio in which hosts Larry Cohen and Ford Swift talk with attorney Joseph VanZandt about claims of false and deceptive sales, marketing, and labeling against JUUL, and the failure to warn of the products’ highly addictive levels of nicotine, all targeting young people.