Former VP Accuses JUUL of Selling Contaminated Pods

According to a report by Reuters, Siddharth Breja, former senior vice president of JUUL, has accused the company of selling contaminated pods, and alleges that he was fired in retaliation for his claims. On July 24th, lawyers from both sides stated that an arbitrator has issued an unfavorable ruling against Breja and ordered him to pay a portion of the company's legal fees.

Event Recap

In October 2019, Siddharth Breja, former Vice President of JUUL, filed a lawsuit alleging that the company had sold one million contaminated pods. Breja claims that he was terminated in March 2019 after expressing concerns to JUUL's management about the company's shipment of contaminated pods to customers and retailers.

According to the lawsuit provided by Breja, Kevin Burns, the former CEO, responded to these concerns, stating, "Half of our customers are drunk, sucking on e-cigarettes like mo-fo, who would pay attention to the quality of our pods?

Kevin Burns denies ever making such comments. Meanwhile, JUUL stated in a release, "Mr. Breja's claims are baseless. He was terminated in March 2019 because he failed to demonstrate the leadership qualities necessary for his position. The allegations regarding JUUL product safety are equally baseless, as we have investigated fundamental manufacturing issues and determined that the product meets all applicable specifications. JUUL will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.

JUUL has denied all allegations and has opted to pursue arbitration, while Breja has not objected. The federal court litigation, originally scheduled for March 2020, has been suspended pending arbitration.

On July 24, 2023, in a joint filing submitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Siddharth Breja and his lawyers representing JUUL stated that an arbitrator had made an unfavorable decision against Breja, ordering him to pay a portion of the company's legal fees. They did not provide any further details regarding the decision but requested for the lawsuit to be dismissed after Breja pays the compensation.

References: 

[1] Ex-Juul executive loses case accusing company of selling contaminated pods

[2] Juul accused of selling 1 million tainted vaping pods to customers and retailers