Category: Issue 393
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Insurance Policy Ambiguous; Broad Coverage Could Be Available for Tainted Peanut Butter Claims
A divided Delaware Supreme Court has determined that ConAgra’s insurance 0contract is ambiguous and therefore might provide broader coverage, with a lower “retained limit” or deductible, for claims arising out of an alleged Salmonella outbreak involving the company’s peanut butter. ConAgra Foods, Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., No. 227, 2010 (Del., decided April 28, 2011). The court…
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Court Allows Salmonella Claims to Proceed Despite Negative Body Fluid Cultures
A federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in Georgia has denied ConAgra Foods’ motion for summary judgment in a case involving claims that tainted peanut butter caused a man’s salmonellosis. In re: ConAgra Peanut Butter Prods. Liab. Litig. (Kidd) v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., MDL No. 1845, No. 07-1415 (N.D. Ga., decided May 4, 2011). Bobby Joe Kidd…
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Court Awards Disabled Turkey Plant Workers $1.7 Million in Back Pay
A federal court in Iowa has determined that 31 disabled men who worked at a turkey-processing plant were owed $1.7 million in back wages and liquidated damages by employers who compensated them at a rate of about $.41 per hour for years. Solis v. Hill Country Farms, Inc., No. 09-00162 (S.D. Iowa, Davenport Div., decided…
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Activists Focus on Massachusetts Animal Rights Bill
According to a news source, animal rights activists have recently been pressing members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass a bill (H00458) that would “prohibit the confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs.” The Prevention…
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Alabama House Approves Bill Prohibiting Weight-Gain Lawsuits
The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill (HB193) that would prohibit people from filing lawsuits against establishments such as restaurants or grocery stores for selling them food that allegedly made them fat. The Commonsense Consumption Act, approved May 3, 2011, by a 75-20 vote, bars “civil actions against manufacturers, packers, distributors, carriers, holders,…
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AGs File Comments on Information Collection from Alcohol Advertisers
Attorneys general (AGs) from 23 states and Guam have submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its proposed collection of information from alcohol advertisers. The information relates to “compliance with voluntary advertising placement provisions, sales and marketing expenditures, the status of third-party review of complaints regarding compliance with voluntary advertising codes,…
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FDA Announces First Regulations Under Food Safety Modernization Act
FDA has issued the first two new regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act. Effective July 3, 2011, the interim final rules are designed to strengthen FDA’s ability to help prevent potentially unsafe food from reaching U.S. consumers. The first rule amends FDA regulations concerning the detention of food for human or animal consumption. It…
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USDA Launches Online Mapping Tool that Locates “Food Deserts”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched an Internet mapping tool that locates “food deserts” in the country. Designed to help policy makers, community planners and researchers bring nutritious food to low-income communities that lack accessibility to grocery stores, the Food Desert Locator is part of first lady Michele Obama’s initiative addressing the childhood…