Starbucks Added To E. Coli Suit

The parents of a 3-year-old Seattle boy sickened after drinking unpasteurized apple juice has sued both juicemaker Odwalla and coffee retailer Starbucks, which sold the juice to the family.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in King County Superior Court on behalf of Terry and Kelley Beverly, whose son Michael fell ill Oct. 16, 1996, after drinking apple juice contaminated with E. coli bacteria. He was hospitalized for 17 days with kidney failure and other complications. As a result, the boy is at risk of developing diabetes and possibly renal disease requiring a transplant, the boy's lawyers contend.

Some 65 people contracted E. coli bacterial infections linked to unpasteurized apple juice last year. A 16-month-old Colorado girl died.

The Beverly family's $8 million suit was originally filed in U.S. District Court against Odwalla alone. But the Beverlys' lawyer, William Marler, said he had no choice but to add Starbucks to the lawsuit and move the case to state court because Odwalla's lawyers have refused to rule out the possibility that they might point the finger at Starbucks during a trial.