Exclusive | Lawyer cries foul as Boars Head asks to move NY widows listeria suit to Virginia: Sending a message
Boar’s Head has raised a courtroom beef with a New York widow whose husband died this summer after eating tainted liverwurst — and her high-profile attorney believes the deli meat giant is “sending a message” to him, The Post has learned.Kathleen Hamilton of Hicksville, LI, slapped Boar’s Head with lawsuit in October in Brooklyn federal court, but now the company is requesting that a judge move the case to Virginia where Boar’s Head is defending itself against a slew of wrongful death lawsuits, according to a Dec.31 filing.Hamilton’s husband of 55 years, Robert Hamilton, was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center on July 12 with flu-like symptoms including stomach pains, diarrhea and a high fever.
He spent the next six days in the ICU before he passed away at age 73. The state Health Department confirmed his death was linked to the Boar’s Head listeria outbreak, according to the complaint.“This poor lady lost her husband and Boar’s Head wants to drag her down to Virginia,” said Hamilton’s lawyer, Bill Marler, a prominent food safety attorney who opposed the request in a court filing last week.The star litigator, who was featured in the Netflix documentary “’Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food,” pointed to the fact that Boar’s Head filed its request to move the case to Virginia during the middle of the holidays.“When you file stuff on on New Years or Christmas Eve, you are doing it to send a message,” Marler said.A spokesperson for Boar’s Head said in a statement, “While we do not comment on the substance of ongoing litigation, the request to move the case is simply procedural, and we intend to address it as part of the process.”Boar’s Head wants to consolidate its cases in Virginia under the same judge for the “most efficient and practical outcome,” the company said in court filings.Hamilton is seeking $20 million for both punitive and compensatory damages, according to the complaint.Marler said Boar’s He...