Certiorari Denied in Tuna Warnings Class Action
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear a putative class action lawsuit involving claims that Tri-Union Seafoods LLC fails to warn consumers about mercury concentrations in its canned tuna fish products. Tri-Union Seafoods, L.L.C. v. Fellner, No. 08-889 (U.S., cert. denied April 20, 2009). The plaintiff filed her claims in 2006, alleging that she developed severe mercury poisoning after eating Chicken of the Sea® canned albacore tuna almost exclusively for five years.
The district court dismissed the case on federal preemption grounds, but the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it after finding that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had taken no action about alleged risks posed by mercury in fish and thus, that the lawsuit would not conflict with FDA’s “regulatory scheme.” More information about the Third Circuit’s ruling appears in issue 272 of this Update.
At least one legal commentator responded to news about the rejection of TriUnion’s appeal by reportedly stating, “Yet again, federal preemption took it on the chin. And a Pandora’s Door of state lawsuits has possibly been thrown open in how the food industry does its labeling.” See Product Liability Law 360, April 20, 2009; LegalNewsline.com, April 21, 2009.
