A former senior vice president of global finance at Juul alleged Tuesday in a lawsuit viewed by Axios that the company sent to market at least "one million mint-flavored e-cigarette nicotine pods that it admits were contaminated." Axios has contacted Juul for comment on the allegations.
Details: The suit, filed by Dhillon Law in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of Siddharth Breja and first reported by BuzzFeed News, alleges Juul ignored his protests to issue a product recall for the contaminated pods, "or at a minimum, issue a public health and safety notice to consumers."
- Breja alleges that Tim Danaher, then chief finance officer at Juul, told him he should "remember his loyalty" to Juul after he continued to raise concerns in March that the company was violating the law and that "stockholders would lose significant personal wealth should he make his concerns public." He was fired the following week, the suit states.
- Another allegation is that Kevin Burns, then CEO, allegedly made an offensive description of Juul customers when Breja raised concerns about the planned resale of one-year-old pods. (Warning: profanity in embedded text.)
An excerpt from the lawsuit filed against Juul.
Posted by Rebecca Falconer on Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Why it matters: Breja's lawsuit seeking damages for alleged violations, including wrongful termination and also intentional infliction of emotional distress, comes days after a mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Juul, alleging the e-cigarette maker's nicotine cartridges were a significant factor in causing the death of her 18-year-old son.
- The e-cigarette industry comes under threat from a Trump administration proposal to ban most flavored e-cigarette cartridges amid growing health concerns and a warning issued by the CDC against using the products.
The big picture: The suit was filed on the same day that it was announced Juul would cut about 500 jobs by the end of 2019.
- Juul announced this month it would stop selling flavored e-cigarette cartridges online, after halting brick-and-mortar sales last year, in response to criticism from schools, parents and regulators who have said the flavored products contributed to the spike in teen vaping.
Worth noting: The lung injuries tracked by federal and state officials involve patients who have mostly used THC-containing products. Still, 13% with the illness who reported only using nicotine vaping products.
