Our client Ernie Lyon is the focus of an article in today's Star Bulletin after we filed a lawsuit yesterday against Honolulu airline caterer Gate Gourmet yesterday:

Ernie Lyon accused the company of serving food contaminated with the Shigella bacteria, causing him to develop a 104-degree fever and accrue $3,000 in medical bills. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Gate Gourmet in an April letter of unsanitary conditions at its Honolulu kitchen, including employees preparing meals in bug-infested areas.

"We're talking about investigators finding vermin, food stored at temperatures over 50 degrees higher than what is considered safe, and a 'pink, slimy substance' in the washing machine," Marler said.

The state Health Department also linked an outbreak of food poisoning to carrots served by Gate Gourmet on flights out of Honolulu April 22-24, 2004. But the investigation could not determine whether the carrots were contaminated by the caterer or elsewhere.