Portland woman sues Trader Joe's over foreign object in orange juice

A Portland woman says a bottle of Trader Joe’s orange juice left her gagging, nauseated and worried she had swallowed part of a human finger. Her $10,000 lawsuit puts a spotlight on a single Northeast Portland store, not a chainwide recall, and leaves shoppers and crew waiting to see whether Trader Joe’s answers the allegation or whether the case stays a one-off claim.

Julee O’Neil filed the complaint Monday, April 20, 2026, in Multnomah County Circuit Court, accusing Trader Joe’s of selling a 52-ounce bottle of Trader Joe’s Organic Orange Juice that contained a foreign object. The lawsuit says she bought the bottle in June 2025 at the Trader Joe’s at 4121 NE Halsey St. in Portland’s Hollywood neighborhood.

According to the complaint, O’Neil thought she was tasting a large piece of pulp before pulling out what appeared to be the fingertip of a rubber glove. The filing says she feared the object might also have been part of a human finger. It says she then developed a burning sensation in her mouth, gagging and nausea, and went to urgent care.

The suit seeks $10,000 in damages, plus attorney fees and other costs, and asks for a jury trial. It also says O’Neil’s attorneys gave Trader Joe’s 30 days’ written notice to settle the claim for $10,000 before filing the lawsuit.

Anthony Furniss of Furniss, Shearer & Leineweber represents O’Neil, according to the court reporting. Trader Joe’s had not publicly commented on the allegations as of the reporting, and KATU said it had reached out to the company for comment.

The filing lands in a city where Trader Joe’s stores are closely watched by both shoppers and employees, especially when a food-safety claim surfaces. For crew members, the immediate question is whether this points to a broader production or handling problem, or whether it remains confined to one bottle from one Portland store. So far, the case is centered on a single customer’s claim and has not been tied in the filings to any broader action by regulators.

KGW also reported that O’Neil has filed several prior tort lawsuits in Multnomah County over the past decade, including earlier cases that were settled. As this case moves through court, the practical issue for Trader Joe’s is simple: whether the company treats the complaint as an isolated allegation or a warning that demands a closer look at how a store bottle ended up in a customer’s hands.