Circle K Calls County Health Citations ‘Pure Hogwash’

Circle K Convenience Stores, angrily responding to a lawsuit accusing the company of persistent violations of food preparation and storage rules at 25 of its county stores, said Thursday that many of the allegations are “pure hogwash.”

An attorney for Circle K also lashed out at Deputy Dist. Atty. Wendy Gene Brough, who Tuesday filed suit against Circle K, accusing the company of ignoring repeated citations from the county Health Care Agency.

The company has received hundreds of health citations at its county stores. The suit accused the company of improper handling and storage of food and failing to clean up rodent feces and repair clogged plumbing.

The Superior Court suit seeks a $400,000 fine and a preliminary injunction requiring Circle K to adhere to health codes.

Circle K officials did not respond to the suit earlier this week, saying they needed time to review the matter. Company attorney Janet Jackim on Thursday disputed many of the violations cited in the suit.

“Circle K has maintained strict standards for the operation and cleanliness of the stores,” she said from the company’s Phoenix headquarters.

According to Jackim, the Orange County district attorney’s office first discussed the violations with company officials in April, when Brough asked the company to pay a $200,000 fine.

Jackim said the company conceded at the time that some, but not all, of the complaints were justified and offered to pay a $50,000 fine. The two sides were unable to agree on the amount of the fine.

After the April discussions, Circle K started an inspection program at each of its county store and hired a full-time quality-control supervisor, Jackim said.

The company also hired “roving teams of health technicians” to visit stores, repair broken equipment and maintain the cleanliness of the stores, she said, at a total cost of more than $100,000.

“We felt all the problems had been resolved,” Jackim said, “with the exception of the fine, which she (Brough) demanded we pay or she would be filing the lawsuit. We think her job is to protect the people in the county . . . rather than trying” to raise the amount of money the county can collect in fines.

Brough could not be reached for comment Thursday.

A hearing on the county’s request for a preliminary injunction has been scheduled Aug. 30 in Superior Court.

“We’re going to present evidence that a number of the violations are pure hogwash in the sense they do not affect the health or safety of people in the county,” Jackim said.

“Some of the violations are subjective in nature. For example, the dirty floors. Your dirty floor may not be my dirty floor.”