The return on investment for food safety is tough to quantify. Not having an outbreak doesn’t result in increased sales or better brand penetration. Having an outbreak is bad news. Not only does a business often close while the problem is addressed and the brand or reputation takes a hit but there’s usually a settlement with patrons or guests.

Like the hundreds of guests of Mohonk Mountain House in 2014 who got norovirus along with their views of the Catskills.  Patrons went to Twitter and talked about their experiences using the hashtag #MoChunk.

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal the resort is settling a class action suit for $875,000.

The lawsuit was filed in February 2014 when class representatives of the lawsuit Louis Bellotti and Anna Marie Bellotti of New Jersey, “acting on behalf of themselves and those similar situated,” brought the lawsuit against Mohonk Mountain House, according to the notice. The Bellottis were two of the many stricken by the norovirus, which according to the notice, led to “nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and/or abdominal pain” as well as lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headaches and fever.

According to the class action notice, subject to upcoming court approval, the Mohonk Mountain House has agreed to a settlement fund of $875,000 to resolve this litigation. Of that amount, $290,868 will be paid out of the settlement for “costs and expenses related to the suit.” Plaintiffs Bellotti and Bellotti will “apply to the court” to receive $10,000 each, with the remaining funds being distributed to class members who participate in the settlement.

In the 12-page lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court, attorney Donald W. Boyajian of Albany claimed gross negligence, stating that Mohonk knew the norovirus was present and failed to warn visiting guests who stayed at the resort between late January and early February of that year.