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Lawsuit ensues after cheese is moved

Posted On: Jul. 13, 2017 12:06 PM CST

Lawsuit ensues after cheese is moved

A Wheaton, Illinois, food distributor is crying foul after an importer moved its aged, irreplaceable cheese. 

Food Brands is alleging in a lawsuit filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court that $68,000 of "artisan, aged specialty cheese imported from Mexico" was stolen and diverted by the importer in conspiracy with another company, Quesos Finos Mexicanos, to repay a personal debt, the Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday.

The food company and its affiliates say they have the exclusive right to sell San Miguel brand cheese nationwide, the newspaper reported.

The lawsuit alleges the importer rerouted 972 cases of San Miguel to Quesos Finos, his former employer, where the 15 pallets now sit, the newspaper reported. 

Quesos Finos, which was once an exclusive distributor of San Miguel cheese and has ignored several demands by Food Brands to return the shipment, planned to sell the cheese under its own name, according the newspaper. 

Cook County Circuit Judge Moshe Jacobius on Monday issued a temporary restraining order, instructing Quesos Finos to not sell or move the cheese.