Category: 8th Circuit
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Disability Benefits Ordered for Hog Slaughterhouse Worker with Brucellosis
The Iowa Supreme Court has awarded disability benefits to a former slaughterhouse worker who allegedly contracted brucellosis from butchering hogs. IBP, Inc. v. Burress, No. 07-1887 (Iowa, decided July 10, 2009). The court determined that the disease was caused by a traumatic event and thus was a compensable injury under state law. So ruling, the court…
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Aurora Dairy Plaintiffs Appeal District Court’s Preemption Dismissal
Multidistrict litigation plaintiffs who sued Aurora Dairy Corp., an accredited organic certifying agent and a number of food retailers have appealed the district court decision dismissing their claims to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In re: Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 08-1907 (E.D. Mo., appeal noticed July 2,…
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Guilty Plea Entered in Melamine-Tainted Pet Food Case
The U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri has announced that a Nevada company and its owners entered guilty pleas in federal court “to distributing a tainted ingredient used to make pet food, which resulted in a nationwide recall of pet food and the death and serious illness of countless pets across the United…
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Importers of Melamine-Tainted Wheat Gluten to Plead Guilty
According to a news source, a Las Vegas-based company and its co-owners have agreed to plead guilty to charges that they imported from China melamine-tainted wheat gluten used to make the pet food that purportedly sickened and killed thousands of cats and dogs in the United States and Canada in 2007. More details about the…
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MDL Court Dismisses Aurora Dairy Litigation with Prejudice
The multitdistrict litigation (MDL) court in Missouri before which nearly 20 putative class actions against Aurora Dairy Corp., an accredited organic certifying agent and several retailers had been consolidated for pre-trial proceedings, has dismissed the lawsuits with prejudice finding that federal organic food laws preempt the claims. In re Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk Mktg. &…
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Disputes over Insurance Coverage for Organic Milk Litigation Consolidated
A federal magistrate in Colorado has consolidated two lawsuits that address whether Aurora Dairy Corp.’s insurers are required to defend or indemnify the organic dairy in a host of consumer class actions alleging that the company falsely certified its milk as organic. ACE Am. Ins. Corp. v. Aurora Organic Dairy Corp., No. 08-1236 (D. Colo.,…
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Government Moves to Dismiss Identity Theft Charges at Kosher Slaughterhouse
As anticipated, federal prosecutors have reportedly filed a motion to dismiss a number of charges of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft against a Postville, Iowa, slaughterhouse, its former executive and a former manager. The action was taken after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a conviction under the identity theft law requires a showing…
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High Court Ruling on Identity Theft Law Affects Pleas from Immigrant Raids at Iowa Meatpacking Plant
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a conviction under the identity theft law requires a showing that those presenting false identification documents to employers knew they actually belonged to another real person. According to Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the unanimous Court, the law was intended to crack down on classic identity theft, for…