Chipotle food safety lawsuit shot down

chipotle burrito bowl prep line

A lawsuit filed against Chipotle last year resulted in a positive outcome for the chain when it was dismissed by federal judge this week, Reuters reports.

The lawsuit claimed that the chain had misled shareholders about its food safety practices after a string of foodborne illnesses broke out at several Chipotle locations. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla shot down the claim, stating that there was insufficient evidence.

“There is no indication in the complaint that Chipotle’s projections were inconsistent with or did not account for the company’s assessments of the impact of the foodborne illness outbreaks,” Failla said in her ruling.

Failia also rejected the claim that CEO Steve Ells, former CEO Monty Moran and CFO John Hartung had committed fraud by selling Chipotle stock a couple of months before the outbreak.

While this is not the first time the chain has found itself in a legal battle of late, the chain shared some positive news at the start of last month when it reported a rise in same-store sales for December

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