An Albert Lea woman and her son filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Taco John’s after they became ill after eating food tainted with E. coli from the restaurant last year.

The lawsuit was the first of its kind in Minnesota related to the infection of at least 33 state residents who became ill in November and December after eating at Taco John’s restaurants, according to the company and the lawyer who brought the case.

Seattle-based William D. Marler has filed two other lawsuits on behalf of people who ate tainted food at Taco John’s restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota. He filed them last month in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids in Iowa.

The E. coli outbreak last year sickened about 81 people who had eaten at Taco John’s restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa in November and December. Among those sickened, 26 were hospitalized. There were no deaths.

Health officials have said contaminated California-grown lettuce was the possible source of the E. coli at the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based company.