Products Liability Law Reporter

The First Circuit Court of Appeals held that a New Hampshire federal district court did not have personal jurisdiction over a lawsuit brought by a New Hampshire resident who was sickened after eating a tainted salad in New Jersey.

Anthony Cappello, a New Hampshire resident, ate a Mediterranean salad taken out from an Italian deli in Fairfield, N.J. The salad taken was prepared using Andy Boy romaine lettuce grown in California, which was packaged and placed on a Restaurant Depot truck by D’Arrigo Brothers, Co., in California. After returning to his New Hampshire home, Cappello was admitted to a hospital, where he tested positive for an E. coli infection. He underwent life-saving surgeries, including removal of his colon. Capello sued Restaurant Depot and D’Arrigo Brothers, among others, in New Hampshire federal district court, alleging that the lettuce he ate was contaminated with E. coli. The defendants moved to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction.

Affirming, the First Circuit noted that plaintiffs seeking to establish specific personal jurisdiction in New Hampshire must show that a claim arises directly out of or relates to the defendant’s forum-related activities, the defendant’s contacts with the forum state represent a purposeful availment of the privilege of conducting activities in the state, and the exercise of jurisdiction is reasonable. Applying these principles, the court found that the plaintiff had not proffered any evidence to show that Restaurant Depot’s New Hampshire contacts had anything to do with a customer purchasing a salad at a New Jersey restaurant. Moreover, the court said, Restaurant Depot did not cultivate a market for or promote its food products in New Hampshire or have a product malfunction there. The court therefore concluded there was insufficient relatedness as to the tort claims against Restaurant Depot.

Similarly, the court found that the D’Arrigo Brothers’s alleged knowledge that some of the products it distributed could end up in New Hampshire was insufficient to show relatedness and had nothing to do with the consumption of a salad from a New Jersey restaurant.
Consequently, the court concluded that denial of personal jurisdiction in New Hampshire was proper.

Citation: Cappello v. Restaurant Depot, LLC, 2023 WL 8946263 (1st Cir. Dec. 28, 2023).