A company whose deli meat products were allegedly contaminated by the inclusion of the Salmonella-tainted red and black pepper sold to it by a supplier has sued the supplier’s insurance company to recover damages resulting from the products’ recall. Daniele Int’l, Inc. v. Penn-Star Ins. Co., No. 12-709 (D.R.I., filed October 9, 2012). According to the plaintiff, which was awarded a default judgment of $33.18 million in a suit against the supplier in September 2012, the defendant’s insurance policies extend to the supplier’s liability for the plaintiff’s losses and damages. The plaintiff also contends that the insurance carrier was notified about the underlying litigation.
Category Archives 1st Circuit
A federal court in Rhode Island has reportedly agreed to enter a default judgment of $33 million against a spice company purportedly involved in a 2010 Salmonella outbreak affecting a salami product that sickened more than 250 people in 44 states. Daniele Int’l, Inc. v. Wholesome Spice & Seasonings, Inc., No. 10-155 (D.R.I., decided September 17, 2012). The court granted the request for default judgment filed by meat producer Daniele International, which was forced to recall in excess of 1.2 million pounds of meat. Health officials traced the contamination to the pepper supplied by the defendant, a company that was reportedly dissolved in April 2012. According to a news source, Daniele’s counsel is uncertain whether they will be able to collect the judgment. See The Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2012.
The manufacturer that sells the Bosch®, Thermador® and Gaggenau® brands of home appliances has sued the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts seeking a declaration that it has not infringed the defendant’s trademarks and copyrights or the publicity rights related to the late Julia Child. BSH Home Appliances Corp. v. The Julia Child Found. for Gastronomy & the Culinary Arts, No. 12-11590 (D. Mass, filed August 24, 2012). According to the complaint, Julia Child used the plaintiff’s Thermador® oven for many years both on the set of The French Chef TV program and in her personal kitchen, which, after she died, was donated to and appears in the Smithsonian Institution. The oven maker claims that it has used images of Julia Child “and references to the well-known historical fact of her use of Thermador products in various media, including on its website and on its social media web…
Daniele International, Inc. has requested that a federal court in Rhode Island enter a $33.1 million default judgment against a spice and seasonings company that allegedly supplied the Salmonella-tainted pepper which resulted in a recall of more than 1.2 million pounds of salami products in 2010. Daniele Int’l, Inc. v. Wholesome Spice & Seasonings, Inc., No. 10-1558 (D.R.I., motion filed July 30, 2012). The defendant has purportedly failed to respond to the complaint or to Daniele’s motion for entry of default. The plaintiff contends that its damages totaled $33,181,174.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has adopted the “reasonable consumer expectation” test to determine whether a boneless turkey product allegedly containing a bone was defective. Pinkham v. Cargill, Inc., No. 11-340 (Me., decided July 3, 2012). So ruling, the court vacated the lower court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. Plaintiff Stanley Pinkham allegedly consumed a hot turkey sandwich during his break. The defendant allegedly manufactured the boneless turkey product in the sandwich. In the middle of or immediately after eating the sandwich, Pinkham allegedly experienced severe and sudden pain in his upper abdominal area and thought that he might be having a heart attack. His physicians later determined that in their opinion he most likely had an “esophageal tear or perforation.” Pinkham sued, alleging that this was a result of bone in the boneless turkey. The defendant moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted while noting that Maine had…
According to news sources, the Center for Food Safety, which lost its challenge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) decision to deregulate without restriction genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, plans to appeal the matter to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal court in California determined on January 5, 2012, that the law does not require the agency to “account for the effects of cross-pollination on other commercial crops” in assessing whether a new crop poses risks. U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti also reportedly said that USDA lacks the authority to require a buffer zone between GE crops and conventional or organic crops. Noting that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the use of glyphosate on Roundup Ready® alfalfa, Conti further observed, “If plaintiffs’ allegations are true, then it is disturbing that EPA has yet to assess the effects of glyphosate on most of the species found near…
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that, while Dominican Republic plantation owner executives are limited-purpose public figures for purposes of a defamation lawsuit involving a documentary film critical of their operations, the district court erred in denying a motion to compel the disclosure of documents that could pertain to actual malice. Lluberes v. Uncommon Productions, LLC, No. 10-2082 (1st Cir., decided November 23, 2011). So ruling, the court affirmed in part but vacated the district court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded the case for a review of the purported privileged documents in camera, if necessary, and a determination as to whether sufficient evidence of actual malice has been shown. The film apparently focused on living conditions in the company towns in which the plantation workers live and identified the plaintiffs “as bearing some measure of responsibility for their disrepair.” The plaintiffs argued on appeal that they were not…
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a district court ruling that Welch Foods, Inc. was not entitled to defense costs and indemnity under an insurance contract which provided an exclusion for claims involving unfair competition and deceptive trade practices. Welch Foods, Inc. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, No. 10-2261 (1st Cir., decided October 24, 2011). Welch was named as a defendant in two lawsuits alleging that the company misrepresented its 100% Juice White Grape Pomegranate Flavored Three Juice Blend® by featuring pomegranates on the product’s label because the juice is primarily apple and grape juice. The company sought defense costs and indemnity from three of its insurers, and two of them settled the claims. As to the third company, the court determined that while the exclusion terms “unfair competition” and “deceptive trade practice” were not defined in the insurance contract at issue, their plain…
A number of fruit juice manufacturers have filed a motion to dismiss the multidistrict litigation (MDL) consumer fraud lawsuits pending in a Massachusetts federal court. In re: Fruit Juice Prods. Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2231 (D. Mass, motion filed July 29, 2011). The lawsuits, involving plaintiffs from California, Colorado, Florida, and Massachusetts, allege violations of state consumer protection laws, breach of warranty and unjust enrichment in the sale and promotion of fruit juices purportedly containing lead. The motion asserts that the plaintiffs lack standing because they “have suffered no economic injury,” their pleadings do not allege facts showing a plausible injury, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act preempts the claims, the suits were brought “under the laws of states in which Plaintiffs do not live and did not purchase any of Defendants’ products,” and the plaintiffs have failed to state any claim under the laws of their home…
According to the Department of Justice, a Massachusetts-based fish packer has been convicted of several criminal charges for falsely labeling packages of frozen fish fillets. A federal jury in Boston found Stephen Delaney guilty of a felony violation of the Lacey Act for falsely labeling $8,000 worth of frozen pollock, a product of China, as more expensive cod loins, a product of Canada. The jury also convicted Delaney of one misdemeanor violation for misbranding food under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; he allegedly placed into interstate commerce $203,000 worth of Chinese frozen fish fillets falsely labeled as products of Canada, Holland, Namibia, and the United States. Evidence at trial apparently indicated that he also changed 4 oz. labels on some packages to 5 oz. labels. Delaney will be sentenced on June 8, 2011; he faces up to six years in jail and up to $350,000 in fines. See Department of…
