Multiple lawsuits filed against Family Dollar after rat infestation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Family Dollar is facing multiple class-action lawsuits in at least three states due to the rat infestation at the company’s West Memphis distribution center.

Customers who filed suits say the company knew or should have known about the rat infestation and the health risks associated with it but stayed quiet due to “corporate greed.”

Last month, the Federal Drug Administration said it discovered thousands of rodents inside the plant and said some products shipped to Family Dollar stores in six states, including Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, may have been contaminated.

One of the suits was filed in Virginia, where Family Dollar’s parent company, Dollar Tree, Inc., is headquartered.

In the suit, two Family Dollar customers from Memphis say over the last 13 months they bought food, diapers, medical devices, cosmetics, and dietary supplements for themselves and their families.

Those same products were named in a voluntary recall.

The plaintiffs accuse Family Dollar of selling the recalled products despite having knowledge of the rat infestation and knowing the products were not fit for human or animal consumption at the time of sale.

Two other class-action suits were filed in Mississippi and Louisiana.

The plaintiffs in those suits also say Family Dollar “knew, should have known or was reckless in not knowing, that the products were exposed to salmonella and other infectious diseases due to the rodent infestation.”

They also accuse the company of keeping quiet because of “corporate greed.”

One suit seeks damages for at least $75,000, and another for at least $5 million.

The suits, which were filed over the last week, also seek to represent all Family Dollar customers in the six states where stores closed.

The attorneys who filed the suits could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

Family Dollar has not yet responded to a request for comment about the lawsuits.

Family Dollar says they are in the process of “gradually” reopening stores but do not have a timetable.

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