A northwest Iowa man died on Wednesday, one day before he would have become a multi-millionaire. The day after a 69-year-old Sioux City man died, a federal jury awarded him a $7.5 million judgment in a lawsuit he and his wife had filed in 2006.
Ronald Kuiper and his wife brought the legal action against Givaudan Flavors Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio. They claimed Kuiper had become ill from inhaling the dust from a flavoring used in the making of microwave popcorn. Kuiper had worked at the American Popcorn Company in Sioux City where he mixed the flavoring with the company’s product.
The Sioux City company wasn’t named in the suit. Kuiper died of heart and lung failure.