A federal court in Georgia has denied a motion to sever the criminal charges filed against the former owner of the Peanut Corp. of America, linked to a 2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak, from charges filed against other company employees. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-12 (M.D. Ga., order entered April 24, 2014). Information about a hearing conducted to assess the reliability of the defendant’s proffered expert—retained to testify about Stewart Parnell’s purported Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder— appears in Issue 517 of this Update. The court has also continued an April 28 status conference in light of a previous ruling rescheduling the trial. Issue 521
Category Archives 11th Circuit
A federal court in Georgia presiding over a criminal action against the owner and employees of the now-defunct Peanut Corp. of America, purportedly involved in a 2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak, conducted a hearing on March 13, 2014, to determine whether the expert testimony proffered as to owner Stewart Parnell’s ability to form the intent to commit the alleged crimes is admissible under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). According to defense expert Joseph Conley, a clinical psychologist, Parnell has an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) condition. Defense counsel claims that Conley’s testimony will show that Parnell did not commit the alleged crimes because he did not factually acquire the knowledge necessary to form an intent about the actions the government has alleged. Conley would testify that Parnell’s ADHD is so severe that he likely never read, nor understood the significance of, many of the emails on…
Snack maker Snyder’s Lance, Inc. has filed a motion to dismiss an amended class complaint filed by representative plaintiffs alleging that the company misleads consumers by labeling its products as “natural” when they contain genetically modified ingredients. Barron v. Snyder’s Lance, Inc., No. 13-62496 (S.D. Fla., Miami Div., motion filed March 10, 2014). Among other matters, the company argues that the plaintiffs’ “premium price” theory of harm is not plausible, they lack standing to seek injunctive relief and their failure to address their understanding of the term “natural” is fatal to their claims. As to the price theory, Snyder’s-Lance contends that the plaintiffs’ claims require the court to assume that price differences between its products and those of “rival brands” are based solely on the “natural” labeling. According to the company, the alleged price differential could be due to any number of other factors, such as better taste, more appealing…
A federal court in Florida has dismissed, without prejudice, a putative statewide class action filed against Amy’s Kitchen, alleging that the company misleads consumers by identifying the sugar in its products as “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ). Reilly v. Amy’s Kitchen, Inc., No. 13-21525 (S.D. Fla., order entered March 7, 2014). The court agreed with the company that, because the court had previously dismissed claims as to products the representative plaintiff had not purchased, the plaintiff could not, at the time she filed the complaint, meet the Class Action Fairness Act’s (CAFA’s) jurisdictional threshold of $5 million. Information about the court’s earlier ruling appears in Issue 507 of this Update. While jurisdictional facts are assessed at the time of removal, and post-removal events do not deprive courts of subject matter jurisdiction under CAFA, “if a claim of the required jurisdictional amount is made in good faith, the claim controls unless it…
A putative statewide consumer-fraud class action has been filed in a Florida state court against Living Harvest Foods, Inc. over use of the term “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) on food product labels rather than sugar. Miller v. Living Harvest Foods Inc., No. __ (Fla. Cir. Ct., Miami-Dade Cty., filed January 30, 2014). While the specific products at issue are not named, the plaintiff contends that the defendant “conceals the fact that its Products have added sugar by referring to the sugar as ECJ, a ‘healthy’ sounding name made up by the sugar industry years ago to sell sugar to ‘healthy’ food manufacturers to use in their consumer products. ECJ is not the common or usual name of any type of sweetener, or even any type of juice, and the use of such a name is false and misleading. Defendant uniformly lists ECJ as an ingredient on its Products, as well as…
A federal court in Georgia has called for the prosecutors and defendants in a criminal action arising from the 2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to the peanut products made by the Blakely, Georgia, Peanut Corp. of America to propose a scheduling order and trial dates between July 7, 2014, and August 2014. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-12 (M.D. Ga., order entered December 11, 2013). The case had been set for trial in February. The court also agreed to review in camera affidavits and other supporting documents “to demonstrate why [the defendants’] defenses are antagonistic and mutually exclusive.” Former Peanut Corp. owner Stewart Parnell has requested that the court sever the proceedings which have been brought jointly against him and several company employees. The court further reserved ruling on pending discovery motions and the government’s motion for a competency hearing as to Stewart Parnell. Issue 507
A federal court in Florida has dismissed putative class claims in a consumer-fraud lawsuit to the extent they involve allegedly false “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) labeling on Amy’s Kitchen food products that the named plaintiff did not purchase, but has otherwise allowed the remaining claims to proceed. Reilly v. Amy’s Kitchen, Inc., No. 13-21525 (S.D. Fla., order entered December 9, 2013). According to the court, in the Eleventh Circuit, plaintiffs have standing to assert claims based only on products they actually purchase thus rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that (i) she could bring claims involving products nearly identical to the purchased product and (ii) the issue was one of typicality and representation best resolved at the class certification stage. Because the plaintiff purchased just three Amy’s Kitchen products with ECJ listed as an ingredient on the label, she will be unable to pursue claims as to 57 other products. The court rejected…
According to court records, prosecutors have filed a motion for psychiatric examination as to Stewart Parnell, who is under criminal indictment for actions relating to the 2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to the peanut products made by the Blakely, Georgia, Peanut Corp. of America plant that Parnell owned. United States v. Parnell, No. 12-cr-12 (M.D. Ga., motion filed December 4, 2013). Information about the criminal charges appears in Issue 472 of this Update. Parnell has filed a motion to sever defendant and counts. The criminal proceedings against him are currently joined to charges against other company employees.
A December 6, 2013, hearing will be held before a Federal court in Georgia on pending pretrial motions in a criminal lawsuit filed against former Peanut Corp. of America officials and employees, including owner Stewart Parnell. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-CR-12 (M.D. Ga., November 5, 2013). The company was the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009, and the 76-count indictment charges four individuals with conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and other counts related to the distribution of adulterated and misbranded food. Among the pending motions are requests for the disclosure of government witnesses and release of Brady materials (exculpatory information).
For the second time in a month, attorneys with three Florida law firms have filed litigation on behalf of state consumers alleging that Anheuser-Busch Cos. (AB) sells a formerly imported beer “in a way that misleads consumers into believing that Kirin beer is still made in and imported from Japan, and accordingly sell[s] Kirin beer at prices substantially higher than those of domestic beer.” Suarez v. Anheuser Busch Cos., LLC, No. ___ (Fla. Cir. Ct., Miami-Dade Cty., filed October 25, 2013). Information about the Beck’s beer litigation, asserting virtually identical claims on behalf of a putative nationwide class against AB in federal court, appears in Issue 500 of this Update. Brought in the names of just two consumers, the Kirin beer litigation notes that external, six-pack, bottled beer packaging fails to state that the product “is brewed in the U.S.A. with domestic ingredients. In fact, the packaging for Kirin Beer…
