The family of a 25-year-old professional dancer who died after eating a cookie from a Stew Leonard’s grocery store is taking legal action.
Back in January, dancer Órla Baxendale passed away shortly after consuming a Vanilla Florentine cookie that had been purchased from the store.
The dancer - who was born in the UK - had been rehearsing at a studio in Connecticut, when the mislabelled treat - which contained undisclosed peanuts - triggered a severe allergic reaction that resulted in anaphylactic shock, as confirmed by a law firm representing her family.
Attorney Marijo Adimey revealed in a statement that Órla's death "stemmed from an unfortunate incident involving the consumption of a cookie manufactured by Cookies United and sold by Stew Leonard’s, which contained undisclosed peanuts."
At the time, Adimey revealed that that Órla's allergy meant that she was particularly cautious about her diet - meticulously checking all ingredient labels and always carrying around her EpiPen.
Additionally, the young dancer surrounded herself with friends and loved ones who were educated on how to administer the EpiPen in case such an emergency arose.
Sadly, the anaphylactic shock the dancer suffered was too severe to be treated by her EpiPen.
Shortly after her passing, both Cookies United and Stew Leonard’s issued statements expressing their condolences, but somewhat shifting the blame onto the other.
Credit: Connecticut Department of Public Health
Stew Leonard’s CEO, Stew Leonard Jr, expressed deep sympathy for the family's loss, emphasizing the profound impact of such a tragedy. He asserted that the Long Island bakery responsible for supplying the cookies failed to inform them of changes in ingredients, leading to the devastating outcome.
In a video statement alongside employees, Leonard Jr. stated: "I’m here with our family and, I mean we’re just all devastated, very sad. I have four daughters, one of them is in her 20s. I can imagine how that family feels right now."
However, Cookies United contended that it had communicated the ingredient change to Stew Leonard's months before the incident. According to the wholesaler, Stew Leonard’s had been notified in the summer of 2023 that the product contained peanuts, and all shipped products were "labeled accordingly".
Credit: Instrgam/ orla_baxendale
A statement from Cookies United read: "Stew Leonard’s claimed in an earlier press release that ‘the cookies contain peanuts, which was an ingredient not disclosed to Stew Leonard’s by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, considering the tragedy of these circumstances, we need to point out that Stew Leonard’s was notified by Cookies United in July of 2023 that this product now contains peanuts, and all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly."
Now, after the legal team described the 25-year-old's death as "tragic and preventable", the New York Post has reported that the dancer's family is suing both the bakery, the grocery chain, and employees for wrongful death.
The updated lawsuit, filed on Thursday (May 23), claimed that Órla's death was down to "gross negligence and reckless indifference to the rights of others and an intentional wanton violation of those rights".
Her family is seeking damages in excess of $15,000, as well as monetary and punitive damages determined by the court.
The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the chain, the specific Connecticut branch where the box of cookies was purchased, and several employees. It claims they disregarded a July 20, 2023, communication from the manufacturer Cookies United LLC, indicating that the Florentine Cookies now contain peanuts.
According to the suit, although at least 11 Stew Leonard’s employees received the email notifying them of the updated ingredients, the supermarket failed to make the changes to the label to reflect the new allergen risk.
Per the plaintiff's, Baxendale - who lived with a "severe peanut allergy" - consumed the cookie and subsequently suffered a severe allergic reaction leading to her death.
The filing highlights how Stew Leonard’s subsequently recalled several products over incorrect or incomplete labels in the weeks after Baxendale’s death, which the suit claims is “further proof of the broken, unreliable, inherently dangerous … systems in place” at the grocery chain".
Cookies United is being held accountable for its manufacturing of the product and its selling of the cookies to the grocery chain.
Both the bakery and the grocery chain are accused of violating state and federal regulations, per the filing.
Our thoughts continue to go out to Baxendale's family.
