A Missouri man has filed a lawsuit against the Hereford House restaurant company in connection to a food contamination case at the iconic steakhouse’s Leawood location.
On Friday, Chad Christopher of Clay County filed a civil lawsuit in Johnson County District Court against the restaurant for allegedly causing him pain and distress after becoming sick following a lunch at the restaurant on April 3.
“Following (lunch), (Christopher) began to feel ill with body aches, fever and vomiting overnight into (April 4),” the lawsuit says. “The symptoms of the Piaintiff’s illness were consistent with food poisoning.”
The lawsuit says Christopher missed work the next day, April 4, due to his symptoms and has continued to suffer “additional emotional and psychological distress.”
Ex-kitchen worker charged with food contamination
In late April, Jace Hanson, 21, was charged with one count of criminal threat in Johnson County District Court for intentional food contamination.
Prosecutors say he intentionally urinated and rubbed his genitals on food at Hereford House on several occasions and posted videos of himself doing so online.
Hereford House officials have said Hanson worked at the restaurant for less than a month, before he was arrested on April 25, following a tip to the FBI.
Christopher’s lawsuit says Hanson was hired at the restaurant in late March. A previously released criminal affidavit says Hanson admitted to contaminating the food on multiple occasions in early April, with the last known act occurring on April 23.
On May 15, Leawood Police announced that test results for Hanson showed “no ongoing risk to patrons” for infectious diseases.
Since putting out a request for responses from customers who ate at the restaurant during the dates Hanson worked, Leawood Police announced more than 330 people reached out to them.
Christopher is requesting a jury trial. No court date is set for the case. Requests for comment from Hereford House about the new civil lawsuit were not immediately returned.
Lawsuit accuses Hereford House of negligence
After becoming aware of Hanson’s alleged actions, Christopher’s lawsuit says he suffered additional emotional and psychological distress, according to court documents.
“(Christopher) continues to experience anxiety and distress, including fear of future distress or medical harm, as a result of his ingestion of contaminated food at (Hereford House) in April, 2024,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit accuses Hereford House of being negligent in its hiring, training, retention and supervision of its employees, as well as proper maintenance of its kitchen. It also claims the company is liable because it sold tainted food to customers.
Christopher’s case is currently the only known lawsuit related to the alleged contamination.
Hereford House says it sanitized kitchen, destroyed food
In a previous statement to the press, Hereford House detailed the process the restaurant took to sanitize the Leawood location.
“We immediately destroyed all the food in the kitchen and did a thorough cleaning and sanitizing of the kitchen and surrounding areas,” the restaurant said in a press release. “We also immediately spoke with the health authorities from the state of Kansas responsible for restaurant inspections.”
State health officials told the restaurant management they had taken the correct steps, Hereford House’s statement said.
A representative for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Kansas did not respond to a request for comment. A search for Hereford House on OSHA’s Establishment Citation website did not return any results.
In a previous email to the Johnson County Post, Hereford House said its staff was working hard to regain its customers’ trust.
“This has been a difficult situation for our customers and all of us connected to the Hereford House Restaurant in Leawood,” they stated. “We are proud of how our staff has continued to provide excellent food and service to our customers.”
Hanson remains in custody at the Johnson County Adult Detention Center in New Century on $100,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for June 6.
Go deeper: New details emerge about Hereford House food contamination case
