Ruiz v. Wintzell's Huntsville
| Decision Date | 28 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | Case No.: 5:13-cv-02244-MHH |
| Parties | JOSE RUIZ & LOURDES RUIZ, Plaintiffs, v. WINTZELL'S HUNTSVILLE, L.L.C. A/K/A WINTZELL'S OYSTER HOUSE, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama |
Plaintiff Jose Ruiz developed a severe infection after eating raw oysters at Wintzell's Oyster House, a restaurant owned and operated by Wintzell's Huntsville, LLC. Mr. Ruiz asserts claims for violation of the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine (AEMLD), breach of warranty, and negligence against Wintzell's Huntsville, LLC; franchisor Wintzell's Franchise Company, Inc.; oyster supplier Webb's Seafood, Inc. (WSI); and Price Foods, Inc., a company that Mr. Ruiz alleges provided management services to Wintzell's. (Doc. 118). Mr. Ruiz's wife, Lourdes Ruiz, asserts a claim against the defendants for loss of consortium. (Doc. 118).1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, the defendants ask the Court to enter judgment in their favor on the plaintiffs' claims. (Docs. 137, 140, 142). For the reasons stated below, the Court grants the defendants' motions for summary judgment in part and denies the motions in part.
"The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a). To demonstrate that there is a genuine dispute as to a material fact that precludes summary judgment, a party opposing a motion for summary judgment must cite "to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(1)(A). "The court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(3). When considering a summary judgment motion, the Court must view the evidence in the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw reasonableinferences in favor of the non-moving party. White v. Beltram Edge Tool Supply, Inc., 789 F.3d 1188, 1191 (11th Cir. 2015).
On December 14, 2012 and December 15, 2012, Mr. Ruiz ate raw oysters at Wintzell's Oyster House in Huntsville, Alabama. (Doc. 150, p. 2; Doc. 150-7, p. 3; Doc. 166, p. 11). On December 16, 2012, Mr. Ruiz began experiencing nausea and diarrhea, and he had a fever. (Doc. 150, p. 2; Doc. 166, pp. 13-14). A few days later, Mr. Ruiz visited the emergency room because he was experiencing pain, discoloration, and swelling in his left leg. (Doc. 166, p. 16). Doctors suspected that Mr. Ruiz had a blood clot in his leg. An ultrasound provided no evidence to confirm the doctor's suspicions, so the doctors sent Mr. Ruiz home. (Doc. 166, p. 16). Early the next morning, when Mr. Ruiz "just could not take the pain anymore," he returned to the emergency room. (Doc. 166, p. 16).
Mr. Ruiz does not remember the events that took place after he arrived at the hospital because he "was in so much pain and [his doctors] gave [him] so much morphine." (Doc. 166, p. 17). When Mr. Ruiz woke up, doctors informed him that he had been infected with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, a type of bacteria commonly found in raw oysters. (Doc. 150, p. 2; Doc. 142, p. 2; Doc. 166, p. 17). Mr. Ruiz's doctors also told him that he was positive for Hepatitis C, a virus that causes liver disease. (Doc. 150, p. 2); see Hepatitis C FAQs for the Public,CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq/htm (last visited August 4, 2017). When Mr. Ruiz ate oysters at Wintzell's, he did not know that he was positive for Hepatitis C; he was "under the impression that [he] was very healthy." (Doc. 150, p. 2; Doc. 166, p. 17).
Vibrio vulnificus infections generally cause no more than mild to moderate gastrointestinal symptoms, but individuals with compromised livers may experience more severe effects. See Vibrio vulnificus Infections Associated with Eating Raw Oysters - Los Angeles, 1996, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00043142.htm (last visited August 7, 2017). As a result of his liver disease, Mr. Ruiz suffered a severe vibrio infection, and doctors ultimately had to amputate his left leg to prevent the infection from spreading. (Doc. 150, pp. 2-3; Doc. 166, p. 17). According to Mr. Ruiz, it is a "miracle" that he is alive. (Doc. 166, p. 17).
The parties acknowledge that Mr. Ruiz's injuries stem from his consumption of raw oysters at Wintzell's, but the defendants contend that they are not liable for Mr. Ruiz's injuries. For its part, oyster supplier WSI argues that it may not be held liable for Mr. Ruiz's injuries because Mr. Ruiz cannot prove that WSI supplied the oysters that he consumed at Wintzell's on December 14 and 15. In the days leading up to Mr. Ruiz's dinner at Wintzell's, the restaurant received oysters fromWSI and from a second source, Bon Secour Fisheries. On December 10, 2012, Wintzell's received 2,500 oysters from WSI and 1,000 oysters from Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. (Doc. 137, p. 2; Doc. 150, pp. 7-8, 24). On December 13, 2012, Wintzell's received another 2,500 oysters from WSI. (Doc. 150, p. 8).2
According to Wintzell's kitchen manager Charles Polk, when Wintzell's receives oyster deliveries, the driver of the delivery truck carries the boxes of oysters to Wintzell's main cooler. (Doc. 164, p. 54). The oysters remain in the cooler until they are ready to be shucked. (See Doc. 164, p. 58). Each box of oysters that Wintzell's receives has a harvest date and a use-by date. (Doc. 164, p. 47). To ensure that oysters with older harvest dates are used before oysters with more recent harvest dates, Wintzell's applies "use-first" stickers to the boxes with the older harvest dates. (Doc. 164, p. 95). The kitchen staff is trained to use boxes with use-first stickers on them before using boxes without use-first stickers. (See Doc. 164, pp. 95, 151). Mr. Polk testified that he was responsible for placing the use-first stickers on the boxes of oysters. (Doc. 164, p. 95). According to Mr. Polk, "[i]f a truck came in and we had boxes [of oysters] already there, the firstthing that'll be done, use first would be on there before the new order came in." (Doc. 164, p. 96).
During a typical dinner service at Wintzell's, the oyster shucker arrives at the restaurant around 1:00 p.m. (Doc. 164, p. 65). The shucker removes a box of oysters from the cooler and brings the box to the shucking station outside the kitchen. (Doc. 164, pp. 58-59).3 The oysters are kept on ice at the shucking station. (Doc. 164, pp. 63-64). When the shucker has shucked 24 oysters, the shucker places the oysters on a cooled metal tray, wraps the tray in plastic, marks the date, and moves the oysters to the cooler, where the oysters remain until a customer orders them. (Doc. 164, pp. 63-64).
Mr. Polk does not know whether the oysters that Mr. Ruiz consumed on December 14, 2012 and December 15, 2012 came from Bon Secour or WSI. (Doc. 164, pp. 101-02). Although he is "pretty sure" based on "good training" that Wintzell's kitchen staff followed the use-first protocol in the days leading up to Mr. Ruiz's dinner on December 15, Mr. Polk stated that he has no personal knowledge of whether the staff in fact used boxes marked "use first" before using boxes with more recent harvest dates. (See Doc. 164, pp. 150-54). Mr. Polk testified that it is possible, though unlikely, that the oysters that Bon Secourdelivered on December 10, 2012 still were in inventory on December 14, 2012 or December 15, 2012. (See Doc. 164, pp. 150-54).
Dr. Gary Rodrick, Mr. Ruiz's expert, has opined that it is extremely unlikely that Bon Secour oysters still were in Wintzell's inventory on December 15. Dr. Rodrick opines that WSI supplied the oysters that Mr. Ruiz consumed. (Doc. 150-4).4 In addition, Dr. Rodrick opines that the oysters contained an unreasonably dangerous level of Vibrio vulnificus, that WSI contributed to the unreasonably dangerous level of Vibrio vulnificus in the oysters, and that Wintzell's was negligent in purchasing oysters from WSI. (Doc. 145, pp. 1-2; Doc. 150-4, pp. 4-5, 7). The Wintzell's defendants and WSI have filed motions to strike Dr. Rodrick's testimony. (Docs. 138, 139).
Mr. Ruiz also offers the expert opinion of public health sanitarian Roy Costa. (Doc. 150-5).5 Mr. Costa opines that Wintzell's committed health code violations by failing to properly store and serve its raw oysters, which caused the vibrio bacteria in the oysters to multiply to unsafe levels. (Doc. 150-5, p. 4). Mr. Costa also is of the opinion that both Wintzell's Huntsville and Wintzell'sFranchise Company were negligent in their selection of oyster suppliers, and that both entities are responsible for failing to introduce adequate employee training and procedures for handling raw oysters. (Doc. 150-5, p. 4). Wintzell's has filed a motion to strike Mr. Costa's testimony. (Doc. 139).
Wintzell's Huntsville, LLC is a franchisee of Wintzell's Franchise Company, Inc. (Doc. 163, pp. 26-29). Dana Price, operating member and 50% owner of Wintzell's Huntsville, LLC, testified that Wintzell's Franchise Company provided him "with operational procedures, systems, [and] menus. . . ." (Doc. 163, p. 29). According to Mr. Price, the restaurant's general manager was responsible for employee training, while Wintzell's Franchise Company provided training materials. (Doc. 163, pp. 31-32). Additionally, Wintzell's Franchise Company provided its franchisees with the menu warnings alerting customers to the dangers of eating raw meat and seafood. (Doc. 163, p. 35).6
Mr. Price employed Alan Renfroe in a managerial capacity at several of his restaurant locations including...
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