The CEO and staff of Stew Leonard’s cannot be personally held liable for the wrongful death of a professional ballet dancer from New York City who developed a severe allergic reaction after eating a mislabeled holiday cookie containing peanuts.
A ruling from Waterbury Superior Court Judge Kimberly Massicotte on October 15 clarified that Orla Baxendale’s family and estate cannot pursue individual claims against CEO Stew Leonard Jr. and other grocery employees under the Connecticut Product Liability Act (CPLA). However, the product liability case will proceed against Stew Leonard’s Holdings LLC, Stew Leonard’s Danbury LLC, and Cookies United, the Long Island company that made the cookie.
Baxendale, 25, tragically died from anaphylactic shock after consuming a vanilla Florentine cookie labeled with the Stew Leonard’s brand at a Connecticut gathering on January 11, 2024. An investigation revealed that the cookie packaging failed to list peanuts, to which Baxendale had a severe allergy.
Attempts to save her using an EpiPen were unsuccessful, with her estate’s attorney noting the severity of her allergy as a contributing factor.
Originally from Manchester, England, Baxter had moved to New York in 2018 on a scholarship to train at The Ailey School. She had worked with multiple choreographers and participated in notable performances, including events at New York Fashion Week and Lincoln Center prior to her passing.
After her death, her family filed a broad wrongful death lawsuit against the grocery chain, claiming negligence for the packaging mishap.
Stew Leonard’s has claimed that Cookies United made a substitution in the recipe, replacing soy nuts with peanuts without informing the company’s chief safety officer. Conversely, Cookies United maintains that they did notify Stew Leonard’s of the ingredient change in July 2023, sending emails to the grocery staff who were later named in the lawsuit, stating that peanuts had been included.
Baxendale’s estate argues that the grocery staff did not take the necessary actions regarding these emails, resulting in the absence of peanuts on the cookie label.
On September 16, 2025, Judge Massicotte previously dismissed all claims against individual executives and employees, but Baxendale’s legal team amended their lawsuit to again include Stew Leonard’s, Cookies United, and individual employees, including Stew Leonard Jr.
Even with this recent ruling protecting individual staff members from personal liability, Baxendale’s estate attorney, Howard Hershenhorn, indicated that they will continue to hold Stew Leonard’s accountable for what he described as “reckless” behavior.
Hershenhorn criticized the grocery for lacking effective systems to ensure that all ingredients were accurately represented on product labels. He expressed frustration at their maneuvers to delay case progress, stating, “We’re having none of it and we’re right back in their face at every point to make sure this never happens again.”
Following Baxendale’s death, other customers of Stew Leonard’s have reached out to the attorney regarding similar labeling issues they believe they have encountered.
To resolve part of the situation, Stew Leonard’s agreed to a $50,000 settlement with Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection and contributed $200,000 to a nonprofit organization focused on food allergies and anaphylaxis, as reported by Newsday.
The trial is set to take place in Waterbury Superior Court in May 2027.
