Typically, the most surprising thing coming out of a bottle of orange juice is extra pulp when you were sure you grabbed the one with a “no pulp” label. Rubber gloves aren’t usually in the mix.
Except for a woman in Oregon who said that’s just what she found at the bottom of a 52-ounce bottle of organic OJ from the popular grocery store Trader Joe’s. A lawsuit filed by the woman, Julee O’Neil, in Multnomah County Circuit Court Monday has been cited by multiple outlets, including KOIN, Oregon Live and KGW.
According to the reports, O’Neil bought the bottle in question from a Trader Joe’s location in the Hollywood neighborhood of Portland, Ore., last June. A few days after opening the bottle, she felt what she first thought was a large piece of pulp in her mouth. When she pulled it out, she realized it was the fingertip of a rubber glove, the reports said.
O’Neil is afraid that discovery indicates something even worst about what was in the bottle.
“She thought (it) might have also contained the end of a human finger in the glove tip or in the pulp of the Orange Juice, which she may have inadvertently swallowed or ingested as well,” said the complaint. “(The plaintiff) was gagging and felt nauseated and had a burning sensation in her mouth.”
After the incident, O’Neil went to urgent care for an ongoing burning sensation, as well as gagging and nausea. She also reportedly gave Trader Joe’s written notice of her discovery and requested $10,000.
However, the company allegedly “failed, refused or neglected” to pay, according to the complaint. O’Neil’s lawsuit also includes a request for judgment of $10,000 in damages, as well as payment of her attorney fees and other costs and a jury trial. She is represented by Anthony Furniss of Portland firm Furniss, Shearer & Leineweber.
All three local outlets reached out to Trader Joe’s for a response. KGW and KOIN both said that the business did not immediately respond.
“Trader Joe’s spokesperson Nakia Rohde did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. O’Neil’s lawyer Anthony Furniss also did not reply to a request for comments,” said Oregon Live.
KGW said court records show that O’Neil has “filed several previous torts in Multnomah County over the past decade,” including a 2020 lawsuit against Starbucks. That suit alleged that she slipped and fell in a Oregon location due to a “large puddle of water on the floor,” and injured her right knee.
In that case, O’Neil also requested $10,000 to settle her damage claims. According to KGW, “court records show the case was dismissed in April 2021 for ‘want of prosecution,’ seemingly because Starbucks either did not receive the complaint or did not respond.”
Audacy has also recently reported on another suit related to Trader Joe’s. That class action could require Trader Joe’s to provide impacted shoppers with around $102 per claim for allegedly printing extra credit card digits on receipts.
