LEADERSHIP
FOR INDUSTRY ANTAGONIST BILL MARLER, FOOD SAFETY IS PERSONAL ED NELSON GUIDED THE VENERABLE TEXAS-BASED BURGER CHAIN THROUGH ITS TRANSITION TO NEW OWNERSHIP AND THE PANDEMIC. HE NOW PREPARES TO HAND OVER CONTROL TO DEBBIE STROUD.
BY PETER ROMEO
B ill Marler has likely filed hundreds of lawsuits against restaurants and food suppliers since serendipity steered him into a courtroom nearly 30 years ago to represent a 9-year-old victim of the Jack in the Box E.coli poisonings. Many of his clients have been the parents of children who were maimed for life because of someone’s food-safety lapse. Not all of the families were fortunate enough to have their child or other loved one survive at all. But there’s one case in particular that’s stuck with him. In 2011, 148 peo- ple were sickened after eating cantaloupe that had been contaminated with Listeria. Thirty-three of the victims would die, including a number of nursing home-aged World War II veterans. “These veterans who’d survived the beaches of Iwo Jima were dying from eating melon,” Marler says, his voice dropping. “It haunts me every day.” He estimates that his law practice has collected at least $1 billion in fees verdicts and settlements from parties that were lax in following proven de- fenses against the likes of E. coli, Shigella and salmonella. He can recount many of the plaintiffs by name, along with the physical price they paid for nothing more than eating what they were served. The 67-year-old Seattle resident points out he’s not hurting financially. But he’s not “a guy who drives around with a gold watch and a Porsche,” he said in a lengthy interview with Restaurant Business.
For him, the battle against food- borne illness is personal. Ditto for prodding restaurants to be part of the fight. “Do you know what it’s like for a father to be in an ICU room and watch as parents have to pull the plug on their kid?” he says. “I’ve seen that. I’ve been to plenty of fu- nerals.” A client whose wife died af- ter eating a wagyu burger last July emails him almost daily, clearly still in agony. Marler has spoken with the man’s kids about getting him counseling. “Yeah, I get paid to help these people,” he continues. “But the defense attorneys are also getting paid,” and their mission is to pre- vent the victims from getting any-
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS JANUARY 2025
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