By JASON SCHREIBER From Union Leader

Seabrook man sues Hershey, claims broken teeth from candy bite ‘ruined’ vacation

BRENTWOOD — The Hershey Company is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Seabrook man who claims his vacation in the Cayman Islands was “ruined” after he broke his teeth on a piece of chocolate.

In court paperwork, the candy manufacturer denies it is to blame for John Giarrusso’s injury, which he claims happened on Oct. 29, 2013, during his visit to Grand Cayman Island.

“No acts of the defendant were a proximate cause of any alleged injuries to the plaintiff,” Hershey’s attorney, Mark Shaughnessy of Boyle, Shaughnessy & Campo, P.C., in Manchester wrote in the company’s response to the suit.

Giarrusso took legal action in September after eating the Hershey’s Nuggets Milk Chocolate with Almonds he had purchased in Stratham and brought on his vacation.

He claims he shared the candy with his friends before he bit down on a “hard, jaggedly sharp substance within the ‘nugget’ piece.”

According to his suit in Rockingham County Superior Court, Giarrusso claims he felt “piercing pain and heard a loud crackling sound as his teeth were damaged” after eating the candy.

His suit argues that the incident “significantly ruined” his vacation and injured his teeth, mouth and jaw. The injuries resulted in medical and dental bills of more than $8,000, the suit said.

Hershey maintains that the candy wasn’t defective as designed or manufactured and denies Giarrusso’s claims of negligence, breach of warranty, and defective product liability.

The candy maker also argued that Giarrusso’s “fault in causing the incident alleged in the complaint exceeds the fault of the defendant.”

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