Category: U.S. Circuit Courts
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Feds Get Tough on Seafood Producers
The Department of Justice recently took action against seafood producers in Wisconsin and Alabama for products that were either processed in plants lacking Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans or misbranded. In Wisconsin, a U.S. attorney filed a complaint to seize a variety of breaded seafood products in the possession of Soderholm Wholesale…
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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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Workers’ Comp Deductibles at Issue in Pork Employees’ Neurological Disease
A Minnesota appeals court has reportedly decided a dispute over workers’ compensation deductibles in favor of a pork processing company’s insurance carrier in litigation arising from injuries to employees exposed to the mist from pig brain tissue. Quality Pork Processors Inc. is apparently considering whether to appeal the ruling to the state supreme court. According…
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Poultry Farm Cries Foul, Appeals Dismissal of Product Disparagement Suit Against CBS
A Georgia-based poultry farm has reportedly appealed a federal court ruling dismissing libel, slander and product disparagement claims against CBS, which apparently aired a segment on its 60 Minutes program in 2003 about alleged terrorist money laundering involving dead chickens. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. v. Katz, No. 03-2422 (D.D.C., dismissal entered March 30, 2011). The D.C.…
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Plaintiff Seeks Motion to Compel in Omega-3 Litigation Against Walnut Company
Contending that Diamond Foods, Inc. has defended its decision to place “heart-healthy” claims on its packaged walnuts on the advice of counsel, and removed them after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning, also on the advice of counsel, the named plaintiff in a putative class action alleging consumer-fraud against the company is seeking the…
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Missouri Couple Charged with Fraud in $3.1 Million Grain Storage Scandal
A federal grand jury has indicted a husband and wife who own a grain storage company in northwestern Missouri, alleging that they conspired to victimize more than 100 farmers at an estimated loss exceeding $3.1 million by selling grain the farmers owned without paying them and by commingling and embezzling the farmers’ money. United States…