Category: 8th Circuit
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Eighth Circuit Allows Parts of MDL Lawsuits Against Aurora Dairy to Proceed
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of one defendant and several claims in multidistrict litigation (MDL) alleging that a dairy certified as organic and the retailers selling its milk violated state deceptive trade practices laws because the dairy did not comply with national organic program standards. In re: Aurora Dairy Corp.…
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Former Kosher Slaughterhouse Manager Claims Trial Court Participated in Immigration Raid Planning
Lawyers for Sholom Rubashkin, who was recently sentenced to 27 years in prison for financial fraud discovered in connection with a kosher meatpacking plant in the aftermath of a 2008 raid to find illegal immigrants, have alleged trial-court improprieties in their request for a new trial. U.S. v. Rubashkin, No. 08-1324 (N.D. Iowa, filed August…
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Louisiana Rice Farmer Awarded $.5 Million Against GM Rice Maker
According to news sources, a St. Louis jury has awarded more than $500,000 to a Louisiana farmer who alleged that when the U.S. rice supply was contaminated in 2006 with a genetically modified (GM) crop that was somehow released from testing facilities, he lost $1.5 million due to lost sales abroad. In re: Genetically Modified Rice…
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Kosher Meatpacking Plant Manager Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison
The former manager of an Iowa-based kosher meatpacking plant that was raided by immigration authorities in 2008 has reportedly been sentenced to 27 years for financial fraud and ordered to pay $27 million in restitution. While the initial case against Sholom Rubashkin involved the hiring of hundreds of illegal immigrant workers, prosecutors apparently changed their…
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Apple Growers in Minnesota Challenge Restrictive Licensing Agreement
A number of Minnesota-based apple growers have filed a complaint against the regents of the University of Minnesota and others claiming that exclusive and limited licensing agreements pertaining to the cultivation and sale of a new apple variety violate federal and state competition and restraint of trade laws. Aamodt Apple Farm, Inc. v. Regents, U.…
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Patent Marking Complaint Filed Against Kraft Foods
A Missouri resident has filed a complaint in federal court against Kraft Foods Inc., alleging that it has been marking its Kool-Aid® and Country Time Lemonade® drink mix packages with the U.S. patent numbers for container patents that expired in April 2008. Brown v. Kraft Foods Inc., No. 10-1007 (E.D. Mo., filed June 1, 2010).…
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MDL Court Limits Discovery in BPA Plastic Products Litigation
The multidistrict litigation (MDL) court before which cases alleging a failure to disclose the possible harmful effects of plastic bottles containing bisphenol A (BPA) have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings has granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs’ discovery motion. In re: Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1967 (W.D. Mo., order…
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Cheese Maker Seeks to Recover Losses for Foul-Tasting Product
A Minnesota company that produces cheese has filed a complaint in federal court against an ingredients and flavorings company, alleging that it supplied a flavoring ingredient with phenolic compounds that “caused the cheese in which it was used to have a taste repugnant to certain of the customers who consumed the cheese.” Bongards’ Creameries v. Kerry…