Foster Farms has filed a lawsuit against its pest control company over an infestation of cockroaches that caused its Livingston, Calif., processing plant to be temporarily shut down last year. The company files the suit last month against Orkin LLC and its subsidiary, Orkin of California, reports the Modesto Bee.
The lawsuit, filed late last month in Merced Superior Court, claims Orkin should pay damages for failing to fulfill a contract to control cockroaches at the processing plant. The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended operations at the Foster Farms plant because roaches were found on four occasions.
According to the lawsuit, Orkin entered a contract with Foster Farms in May 2013 to control pests at the Livingston facility. The poultry producer claims the exterminators did substandard work.
The lawsuit alleges Orkin did not cooperate with Foster Farms and the USDA to deal with the infestation. It also says Orkin failed to provide six-days-a-week service promised in the contract, instead often coming only three days a week.
After the three-day shutdown in January, Foster Farms had to hire another business to tent and fog the huge processing facility, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and resulting in a second shutdown, the lawsuit says. Foster Farms is seeking unspecified dollar amounts from Orkin for lost profits, property damage, business disruptions and fumigation costs.
