Shook Partner Sean Wajert has authored an article on the failure of a duty-to-warn claim in a case involving a caffeinated alcoholic beverage and a fatal motorcycle accident. Titled “No Duty to Warn for ‘Nonconventional’ Alcohol Beverages,” the article appeared in the June 27, 2012, issue of Law360. Wajert discusses the court’s dismissal of such claims in Cook v. MillerCoors LLC, and explains why “the court was reluctant to make an exception to the rule” that “the dangers inherent in alcohol consumption are well-known to the public.” With “hundreds of alcohol-containing products that are not ‘conventional’ in one way or another, by taste, ingredients, color, manufacturing process, advertising . . . To shift responsibility from the person who over-consumes one of these and then drives impaired is to send the absolutely wrong policy message.” To read the article, please click here.

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For decades, manufacturers, distributors and retailers at every link in the food chain have come to Shook, Hardy & Bacon to partner with a legal team that understands the issues they face in today's evolving food production industry. Shook attorneys work with some of the world's largest food, beverage and agribusiness companies to establish preventative measures, conduct internal audits, develop public relations strategies, and advance tort reform initiatives.

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