Class-Action Suit Can Proceed Against Port Chester Restaurant

PORT CHESTER, NY — A judge has given thousands of people the opportunity to make a legal claim against a popular Port Chester restaurant that had an outbreak of hepatitis. State Supreme Court Justice Gerald Loehr said the lawsuit against bartaco can be opened to other patrons who had to be tested for the disease or who received vaccinations after dining at the restaurant.

Bartaco's chief financial officer and attorneys said they were already making payments voluntarily to patrons who were affected and had paid nearly $150,000 to reimburse them for vaccinations and other costs, the Journal News said.

On Oct. 25, 2017, Westchester County health officials announced that customers who had visited Bartaco between Oct. 12 and 23, 2017, had been exposed to the hepatitis A virus. Health officials estimated that more than 3,000 people obtained recommended immune globulin shots, along with blood tests and other diagnostic procedures.

County officials said one employee of bartaco was infected with hepatitis A, and four patrons were diagnosed with the virus.

The suit was filed in the County of Westchester New York Supreme Court against Barteca Restaurants, LLC, specifically the Bartaco Port Chester, LLC, by Seattle food safety law Firm Marler Clark and Rochester-based Underberg & Kessler LLP on behalf of Yonkers resident and plaintiff Crystal Lopez, and all others who were forced to obtain a blood test, get the hepatitis A vaccine and/or received immune globulin after being exposed to the hepatitis A virus while eating at the restaurant.

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