Juul pods tainted, fired exec alleges
A lawsuit says the company knowingly shipped 1 million contaminated units.
A Juul Labs executive who was fired this year is alleging that the vaping company knowingly shipped 1 million tainted nicotine pods to customers.
The allegation comes in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by lawyers representing Siddharth Breja, a former finance executive at the e-cigarette giant. The suit claims that Breja was terminated after opposing company practices such as shipping contaminated flavored pods and not listing expiration dates on Juul products.
The lawsuit does not specify the contamination issue or how it occurred. Lawyers for Breja declined to elaborate on the issue Wednesday.
A Juul spokesman said in a statement that the claims are “baseless” and that Breja was terminated because he failed to “demonstrate the leadership qualities” required for the job.
Juul, the top-selling ecigarette brand in the United States, has been besieged by criticism amid an explosion of underage vaping. The company faces multiple investigations by federal and state officials as well as lawsuits by families of teenagers who say they became hooked on nicotine through the company’s vapes.
Breja worked in Juul’s global finance department less than 10 months. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, seeks damages for lost salary, bonuses and Juul stock, which it values at more than $10 million.
BuzzFeed News first reported on the lawsuit.
Breja describes a “reckless” and “win-at-all-costs” culture at Juul, primarily driven by the company’s former chief executive, Kevin Burns, who was replaced in a management shake-up in September.
Breja says he learned in March that some batches of nicotine solution used in the company’s mint-flavored pods had been contaminated. Breja claims that company management shipped roughly 1 million pods affected by the issue and failed to issue a recall or public announcement.