A Smithfield man who was hospitalized with a listeria infection last month has sued Boar’s Head over the multi-state outbreak tied to one of its Virginia meatpacking plants.

Robert Reposa filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in federal court on Sept. 11 against Boar’s Head Provisions Co. Inc. The suit states that he purchased Boar’s Head brand deli meats from Kroger grocery store in Smithfield in late July, days after the federal Food and Drug Administration announced its investigation into a listeria outbreak the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would later trace to a meatpacking plant in Jarratt. Listeria, according to the CDC, is a typically rare but serious form of bacterial infection that can result from eating contaminated food. Outside of outbreaks, the CDC estimates 1,600 people are infected with listeria each year, and of those, 260 will die from the infection.

Reposa’s lawsuit states he’d gone to an urgent care facility on Aug. 8 with severe stomach pain, vomiting, fever, chills and diarrhea and was admitted to a hospital on Aug. 13 when his symptoms persisted. There, he tested positive for a listeria infection and, due to previous heart issues, remained hospitalized for 14 days.

The complaint alleges Reposa to have “likely suffered permanent damage as a result of this exposure.” The lawsuit seeks $4.6 million in compensatory damages and an additional $43.5 million in punitive damages.

The lawsuit alleges Boar’s Head “knew of the unsanitary practices that were present at its facilities” but “continued to put food products into the chain of commerce to be purchased by consumers.”

According to Associated Press reporting, the listeria outbreak is linked to the deaths of at least nine people and the hospitalization of about 50 others across 18 states.

Boar’s Head, which as of Sept. 18 had not filed a response to Reposa’s lawsuit, announced in a Sept. 13 press release that it would indefinitely close its Jarratt plant. The Sarasota, Florida-based company says the Jarratt plant has not operated since late July.

U.S. Department of Agriculture records list 69 separate incidents of noncompliance at the Jarratt plant with federal food safety regulations spanning Aug. 1, 2023, through Aug. 2, 2024, including findings of mold, a leaky ceiling, meat residue on the floor and walls, insect infestations and at least once instance of dried meat residue on a knife used to slice products.

“Our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst,” the company press release states. “With this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue liverwurst.”

Reposa is represented by Robert Haddad of Virginia Beach-based Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward P.C.

According to a USDA news release, 71 products produced between May 10 and July 29 of this year under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names with sell-by dates ranging from July 29 through Oct. 17 are under recall. Boar’s Head’s press release states the company initiated its own voluntary recall on July 25.