Ruth
A man's suit over the body of a mouse he allegedly swigged along with his Mountain Dew is set for case management.
A summary judgment move filed by Pepsi Co. and its St. Louis bottling arm is pending, although no hearing date is set.
The case management conference in the suit brought by Ronald Ball will start at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Ball claims that after purchasing a can of Mountain Dew from a
vending machine at his work place he discovered the mouse's remains after spitting out a foul-tasting mouthful.
Ball claims that he then sent the mouse carcass to Pepsi in a Mason jar and that the company destroyed it.
Ball is seeking at least $50,000 in damages and other relief.
Pepsi argues in its motion for summary judgment that the mouse could not have been sealed in the can as the plaintiff claims because it was submerged in the soda long enough that the acid in the beverage would have caused it to decompose further than the state Ball claims the mouse was in.
Madison County Circuit Judge Dennis Ruth presides.
Ball is represented by Tom Keefe Jr. and Samantha Unsell.
Two previous defendants, the owner of the Shop 'n Save grocery chain and an employee of the grocer, were dropped from the case.
The case is Madison case number 09-L-440.