Costco Fends Off Suit Linking Recalled Peaches to Listeria

Costco Wholesale Corp. and its produce supplier won judgment on claims that listeria-contaminated peaches caused a New Jersey man’s severe illness.

Steven Picciano didn’t establish his illness was caused by his consumption of contaminated peaches subject to a 2014 nationwide recall, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, said Feb. 25 in an unpublished decision.

The ruling granted summary judgments to Costco and Wawona Packing Co., a Cutler, Calif.-based company that supplied potentially tainted peaches to Costco, Kroger, Walmart, and other grocers.

Picciano said he bought the peaches at a Costco store in Clifton, N.J., and became severely ...