Karl and Gina Hercula allege shredded iceberg lettuce served at a Gratiot Avenue Taco Bell left them ill for weeks; complaint filed in federal court in Detroit as CDC reports nearly 7,000 illnesses nationwide
DETROIT, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A Clinton Township husband and wife have sued Taco Bell and produce processor Taylor Farms in federal court, alleging that shredded iceberg lettuce served at a Macomb County Taco Bell infected them with Cyclospora during the multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak now under investigation by federal and state health officials.
The complaint, Hercula v. Taco Bell of America, LLC, et al., was filed July 20, 2026 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division. It names Taco Bell of America, LLC; Taco Bell Corp.; Taylor Fresh Foods, Inc.; and Taylor Farms California, Inc., along with unidentified John Doe corporations. Plaintiffs Karl and Gina Hercula are represented by William D. Marler of Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, and by local counsel Drew A. Ruby of Ruby Injury Law in Farmington Hills. A jury trial has been demanded. A case number has not yet been assigned to the complaint.
According to the complaint, the Herculas purchased and ate meals at the Taco Bell at 37510 Gratiot Avenue in Clinton Township on June 21, 2026, and both meals contained fresh iceberg lettuce. Gina Hercula became ill on or about July 6 and sought emergency room care the following day. She returned for urgent care twice more, provided a second stool sample, and began antibiotics before that sample tested positive for Cyclospora on or about July 14. Karl Hercula became ill on or about July 10 and was treated at urgent care on July 13, where he was prescribed trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, the recommended treatment for cyclosporiasis. The complaint states that both plaintiffs are still recovering.
The suit alleges that the Taylor defendants grew, processed, packaged and distributed the shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, including the Clinton Township restaurant, and that Taco Bell prepared and sold the contaminated food. It brings claims for strict product liability, breach of express and implied warranties, negligence, negligence per se, and violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.
“This case is about a meal, not a theory,” said Marler. “Two people ordered lunch on a Saturday in June. Three weeks later one of them had a laboratory-confirmed parasite and the other was on Bactrim. The lettuce that did that came from somewhere, and somebody sold it.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Health Alert Network advisory on July 14, 2026 reporting 1,645 laboratory-confirmed domestic cyclosporiasis cases since May 1, and stating that it was aware of more than 5,100 additional cases requiring further analysis — nearly 7,000 people in all. During the same period in 2025, CDC reported 249 cases nationally. The confirmed cases came from 34 states, ranged in age from 2 to 95 years, and included 141 hospitalizations. The same day, CDC posted an outbreak investigation notice reporting more than 400 illnesses across Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky in a single epidemiologically linked cluster.
On July 17, Taylor Farms announced a recall of iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico. Earlier in July, Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan and elsewhere posted signs telling customers the chain could no longer serve lettuce, cilantro, onion, pico de gallo or guacamole.
“What ought to bother people is how long it took to name a product,” Marler said. “The federal rule that would have required lot-level traceability records on leafy greens was supposed to take effect on January 20 of this year. It was pushed to 2028. These illnesses began in May. We spent two months doing by hand what the law was supposed to be doing automatically.”
Cyclosporiasis is caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which people contract by consuming contaminated food or water. Symptoms typically begin about a week after exposure and include frequent watery diarrhea, appetite and weight loss, bloating, nausea and fatigue. Left untreated, the illness can follow a relapsing course lasting a month or longer. Because contamination originates in the field and in water before produce reaches a kitchen, and because ordinary washing may not eliminate the parasite, the complaint alleges the burden of prevention falls on those who grow, process, distribute and sell fresh produce.
“Cyclospora is not a mistake that happens in a restaurant kitchen,” Marler said. “By the time lettuce reaches a Taco Bell on Gratiot Avenue, whatever went wrong went wrong a long way upstream. That is why we sued the grower and the processor as well as the chain that served it.”
About Marler Clark
Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of foodborne illness. The firm has represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products have caused serious injury and death, and has recovered more than $900 million for clients. William Marler began representing foodborne illness victims in 1993 as lead counsel in litigation arising from the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, and has since litigated cases involving E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Cyclospora, hepatitis A and other pathogens across the United States.
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SOURCE Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm
