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Almquist v. Finley School District No. 5311/21/2002
The Washington Product Liability Act (Product Liability Act or Act) imposes strict liability on the manufacturer of a defective product. RCW 7.72.010(4); Hyjek v. Anthony Indus., 133 Wn.2d 414, 944 P.2d 1036 (1997). The Finley School District No. 53 prepared and sold tacos tainted with E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria. We conclude that the Product Liability Act applies to the sales of tacos from a school and that processing frozen ground beef into cooked tacos constitutes 'manufacturing' as defined by the Act. We further hold that the Act imposes liability for a secondary victim--one who did not eat the tainted product but contracted E. coli poisoning from someone who did. We therefore affirm the judgment entered on the jury's verdict.
HISTORY
The Finley School District prepared and served a taco lunch for its students using frozen ground beef supplied by Northern States Beef. The District thawed and cooked the meat; drained off the fat and rinsed the meat; added refried beans, tomato paste, and seasonings; and mixed it up. It then delivered the meat mixture in pans to the schools, including Finley Elementary, for distribution from cafeterias.
Eleven children became infected with E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria in October 1998. Ten attended Finley Elementary. The eleventh was a two-year-old playmate of two of the affected students. The Benton-Franklin Health District investigated. Members of the Washington State Department of Health and the National Centers for Disease Control joined the investigation. Dr. John Kobayashi, epidemiologist for communicable diseases for the Washington State Department of Health, headed the investigation. The investigative team concluded:
As no other common school activity was identified other than eating at the school cafeteria, it is reasonable to conclude that a meal served at the school was the likely source of illness. Cattle are the known reservoir of E. coli 0157:H7. Thus, it is likely that consuming the ground beef served in the tacos was the vehicle. Ex. 1 at 7.
The team concluded that the taco meal was the 'most probable source' of the outbreak--meaning a greater than 50 percent certainty. Report of Proceedings (RP) at 172.
The team concluded that two-year-old Faith Maxwell was a 'secondary case.' Ex. 1 at 9. Secondary cases often result from fecal-oral contamination. They generally make up from 1 to 10 percent of the cases caused by an outbreak. Faith spent considerable time with two children who ate the taco meal in question, one of whom had a confirmed case of E. coli poisoning. One of the children also spent the night at Faith's house and played with her, including dressing her up. Faith's treating physician diagnosed her with E. coli linked to the outbreak caused by the taco meal. Other investigators supported his conclusion.
PROCEEDINGS
The parents of the afflicted children (Plaintiffs) sued the District and Northern States Beef. They alleged that both the District and Northern States were manufacturers of a product (the taco filling) that was not reasonably safe. As such, both were strictly liable under the Product Liability Act for the children's harm.
Northern States Beef settled and was dismissed.
Plaintiffs moved for summary judgment against the District on the issue of liability. The trial court ruled as a matter of law that the defective 'product' for the purposes of the Act was the taco filling, not the frozen meat, and that the District's processing of frozen hamburger into cooked taco filling made it a 'manufacturer' under the Act. As such, it held that the District was strictly liable if the taco meals caused the E. coli outbreak.
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