Lexington restaurant, pie shop sued after salmonella outbreak
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Customer sues Ramsey Enterprises and Missy’s for negligence and product liability.
- Health department linked at least 57 Salmonella cases to Missy’s pies in 2025.
- Investigation cited rotten eggs, cold-holding and cooking process failures.
A Kentucky woman who became ill last summer after eating salmonella-tainted food from Missy’s Pie Shop in Lexington is suing the business and the restaurant where she ate the pie.
There are likely to be multiple lawsuits against Missy’s and Ramsey’s Diner after at least 57 people got sick in connection with a salmonella outbreak involving pies served at Ramsey’s, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Leader.
According to the complaint filed March 10 in Fayette Circuit Court, Kathy Sears, of London, ate at the Ramsey’s restaurant at 3090 Helmsdale Place on June 20. She had a meal and pie, which came from Missy’s Pie Shop.
Missy’s Pie Shop is owned by Ramsey’s Enterprises, which is owned by Robert Ramsey.
Sears is suing Ramsey Enterprises and Missy’s for negligence, breach of implied warranty and product liability. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for past, present and future medical expenses, pain and suffering and emotional distress.
Ramsey Enterprises and Missy’s Pie Shop have not yet filed a response to the complaint.
Robert Ramsey did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
At least one other customer, Donna Soper of Nicholasville, filed a similar complaint in November, alleging that she became ill after eating a meal and pie at the Helmsdale Place location of Ramsey’s on June 19.
In that complaint, Ramsey’s has filed an answer denying the allegations and asking for the complaint to be dismissed.
What the lawsuit alleges happened
According to the lawsuit, Sears became severely ill on or about June 22, and on June 25 needed to be transported to the hospital. She was diagnosed with salmonella enterocolitis and sepsis, according to the lawsuit.
She later learned that several other people had been diagnosed with salmonella after eating pies made and sold by Missy’s and Ramsey’s, according to the suit.
According to the lawsuit, Missy’s “received rotten eggs from a distributor during the month of June 2025 and continued to use those eggs in preparing and selling its pies.”
Sears alleges that the defendants “knew that the delivery trucks were not refrigerated and continue to use these eggs in preparing and selling its pies ... (displaying) wanton and reckless disregard of the lives, safety and property of (Sears), which amounts to gross negligence.”
The lawsuit alleges that Sears experienced severe and ongoing medical issues “as a result of Ramsey’s and Missy’s negligence.”
What the health department reported
On July 2, 2025, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported that at least 10 cases of salmonella had been linked to Ramsey’s and Missy’s Pies.
“It was discovered that each case had eaten at least one meal at different Ramsey’s Diner locations between June 17-20. While the entree items differed, each case consumed a custard-based pie topped with meringue or a cheesecake dessert,” the health department said last July.
But according to health department documents later obtained by the Herald-Leader, at least 57 people were found to have illnesses related to the outbreak.
According to a July health department environmental assessment, several contributing factors were identified in their investigation including:
- Contaminated raw product-food was intended to be consumed after a kill step;
- Improper cold holding due to an improper procedure or protocol;
- Insufficient time and/or temperature during cooking/heat processing;
- Insufficient time and/or temperature during reheating.
According to the assessment, the health department made visited all four Ramsey’s locations as well as Missy’s Pie Shop at 502 E. High St. following a complaint received on June 27. They also visited Clem’s Foods, which distributed the eggs used from Maple Crest/Maple Creek Farms.
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 2:42 PM.
