Category: Global Courts
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Chinese Court Accepts Civil Lawsuit in Melamine-Tainted Milk Scandal; Criminal Convictions Upheld
A Chinese court in Shijiazhuang has reportedly agreed to accept a lawsuit filed by the parents of a child allegedly affected by the 2007 melamine contamination of milk and infant formula. Until this week, no court had accepted the litigation, a first step in securing compensation outside the administrative procedures established by the government. According…
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German Beekeeper Seeks Compensation for GM-Contaminated Honey
German courts in Bavaria have reportedly been considering issues raised in a lawsuit filed by an amateur beekeeper who was forced to destroy his honey after it was found to be contaminated with pollen from a nearby field trial of genetically modified (GM) corn. Beekeeper and handyman Karl Heinz Bablok, aware that his hives were…
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Chinese Courts Agree to Accept Melamine-Tainted Milk Cases
According to a news source, the executive vice president of China’s highest court has indicated that the courts will begin accepting the paperwork filed by parents who decided not to participate in the government’s compensation plan for injuries allegedly suffered by children who consumed melamine-tainted milk products. Court official Shen Deyong reportedly said in an…
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Italian Magistrate Orders Payment of Damages for Contaminated Milk
An Italian magistrate has reportedly determined that Nestlé Italia and Tetra Pak International are liable for the “psychological prejudice” of parents who gave their daughters milk purportedly contaminated with chemicals from the carton. The milk was apparently withdrawn from sale in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy in late 2005, over concerns about the leaching of…
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Dairy Executive Appeals Life Sentence Imposed After Tainted Milk Guilty Plea
According to a news source, former Sanlu Group chairwoman Tian Wenhua has appealed the life sentence she received after she entered a guilty plea to charges arising out of the melamine-tainted milk scandal in China that sickened hundreds of thousands of children and led to a number of deaths. Tian’s lawyer reportedly contends that his…
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Mass Tainted-Milk Action Filed in Chinese Court; Responsible Producers Sentenced to Death
More than 200 Chinese families whose children were sickened after consuming melamine-contaminated milk products have reportedly filed suit against a group of 22 milk producers before the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing. Earlier class action suits filed in Chinese courts were not accepted, so it is unclear whether this action will proceed. According to Lin…
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Beef Hormone Dispute Headed to WTO
The European Commission has reportedly indicated that it will file a World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to the U.S. decision to impose new tariffs on European Union (EU) products involved in sanctions stemming from a dispute over beef hormones. The EU has banned hormone-treated beef since the early 1980s, and the WTO ruled in 1998…