Mary-Rose Mercer has filed a lawsuit against one of the largest retail corporations in the world, alleging negligence and strict liability. The complaint was lodged in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County, Florida, on March 13, 2025. The defendants named in this case are Walmart, Inc., its store brand Great Value, and Mario London, a manager at one of its stores.
The incident that sparked this legal battle occurred on May 1, 2022. Mary-Rose Mercer claims she suffered severe and permanent injuries after biting into a stone found in a bag of Great Value blueberries purchased from a Walmart store located at Indian Rocks Road and Walsingham in Largo, Florida. According to Mercer's complaint, Walmart and its associated entities failed to exercise reasonable care in selling, distributing, preparing, and packaging food products for public consumption. She accuses them of breaching their duty by allowing a hard object like a stone to be present in the blueberries without proper inspection procedures or consumer warnings.
Mercer argues that as a direct result of this negligence, she has endured significant physical and mental pain and suffering. Her injuries have reportedly impaired her ability to lead a normal life and resulted in both past and future loss of earnings. Furthermore, she anticipates incurring substantial medical expenses for ongoing treatment due to the permanent nature of her injuries.
The lawsuit outlines several counts against the defendants: negligence against Walmart Inc., Great Value, and Mario London; strict liability against all three parties as well. In each count related to negligence or strict liability under Florida law governing product safety standards—Mercer asserts that defective conditions existed when these products left the control of respective defendants which posed unreasonable risks harming consumers like herself who used them foreseeably.
In terms of relief sought from court proceedings—Mercer demands judgment awarding damages exceeding $50k along with costs associated with litigation plus prejudgment interest on liquidated damages if applicable while requesting jury trial addressing all issues raised herein concerning alleged misconduct by involved parties.
Representing Mary-Rose Mercer are attorneys Tony Griffith Esq., Ryan Bresler Esq., Justin Peterson Esq., from Tanney Griffith & Bresler P.A., based out Clearwater FL whose contact details provided within document service designations section include primary email address tg@tanneygriffithlaw.com secondary stacy@tanneyogriffithlaw.com respectively. The case ID is: 25001233CI.