Big Olaf Creamery has been ordered to pay $4 million to the estate of Mary Billman, a 79-year-old Illinois woman whose death has been linked to a listeria outbreak traced to the Florida-based ice cream maker.
Included in Judge William Jung’s ruling are $1 million Big Olaf will have to pay in punitive damages.
In the wrongful death suit brought by her estate, Billman was described as the "matriarch" of a large family: In addition to serving as the primary caretaker of her husband, who suffers from dementia, Billman had three children, eight grandchildren and four great-grand children.
"Her pain and suffering and resulting death, and ultimate loss to her family and friends, cannot be understated," the suit said.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
For more on this story, go to NBC News.
