A Minnesota appeals court has reportedly decided a dispute over workers’ compensation deductibles in favor of a pork processing company’s insurance carrier in litigation arising from injuries to employees exposed to the mist from pig brain tissue. Quality Pork Processors Inc. is apparently considering whether to appeal the ruling to the state supreme court. According to counsel for the company, the matter involves a contractual dispute and has no effect on benefit payments to those infected while working on or near the line called the “head table.” They apparently used compressed air to remove pigs’ brains and were diagnosed with an unusual neurological disease that causes symptoms including weakness, fatigue, confusion, and seizures. The pork processor contends that the contract language addressing how deductibles were calculated is ambiguous and disagreed that each accident should be decided separately. See The Austin Daily Herald, April 14, 2011.
Category Archives U.S. Circuit Courts
A Georgia-based poultry farm has reportedly appealed a federal court ruling dismissing libel, slander and product disparagement claims against CBS, which apparently aired a segment on its 60 Minutes program in 2003 about alleged terrorist money laundering involving dead chickens. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. v. Katz, No. 03-2422 (D.D.C., dismissal entered March 30, 2011). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has apparently not yet indicated whether it will hear the appeal. The segment focused on a purported “terrorist hunter” whose actions in ferreting out terrorist activity in the United States apparently led the U.S. government to raid a poultry farm after she claimed that Saudis had purchased it. According to Rita Katz, who appeared on the program in disguise, chicken was the best cover for money laundering because “chicken is one of the things that no one really can track it down. If you say in one year that you lost 10…
Contending that Diamond Foods, Inc. has defended its decision to place “heart-healthy” claims on its packaged walnuts on the advice of counsel, and removed them after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning, also on the advice of counsel, the named plaintiff in a putative class action alleging consumer-fraud against the company is seeking the production of attorney-client communications. Zeisel v. Diamond Foods, Inc., No. 10-01192 (N.D. Cal., filed April 26, 2011). Details about a court order denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss appear in Issue 363 of this Update. The plaintiff points to instances in responses to interrogatories and deposition questions where the company defended its decision to link the omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts to heart health as a good faith bona fide error and indicated that decisions about the labeling were made with legal counsel’s approval. Yet, the company has refused to produce any attorney-client communications on…
A federal grand jury has indicted a husband and wife who own a grain storage company in northwestern Missouri, alleging that they conspired to victimize more than 100 farmers at an estimated loss exceeding $3.1 million by selling grain the farmers owned without paying them and by commingling and embezzling the farmers’ money. United States v. Froman, No. 11-06005 (W.D. Mo., filed April 21, 2011). The indictment alleges that “grain (primarily corn and soybeans), which was owned by various farmers who contracted with Gallatin Grain, was sold by the Fromans without the farmers’ permission and the proceeds of the sale were wrongfully withheld by the Fromans.” Counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and bank fraud have been brought against both Daniel and Pauline Froman. Daniel has also been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property. Prison terms of up to 30 years…
A federal court has reportedly approved a $760 million government settlement with Native American farmers and ranchers who claimed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) discriminated against them by denying them equal access to credit through the agency’s Farm Loan Program. Keepseagle v. Vilsack, No. 99-03119 (D.D.C., settlement approved April 28, 2011). A final dispute over attorney’s fees was resolve in class counsel’s favor; they will receive 8 percent of the settlement, or $60.8 million. The Department of Justice apparently urged the court to halve that amount. According to a news source, the settlement funds do not require legislative action to be awarded; farmers must file their claims by December 2011. President Barack Obama (D) said, “Today’s approval of the settlement will help strengthen our nation to nation relationship with Indian Country and reinforce the idea that all citizens have a right to be treated fairly by their government.” Under…
A federal court in California recently granted a motion for final approval of a class action settlement in litigation involving allegations that Kellogg Co. fraudulently claimed that its Frosted Mini-Wheats® cereal “was clinically shown to improve children’s attentiveness by nearly 20%.” Dennis v. Kellogg Co., No. 09-01786 (S.D. Cal., decided April 5, 2011). Additional information about the case appears in Issue 368 of this Update. Two class members objected to the settlement, challenging the cy pres relief, which will provide money remaining from the $2.75 million settlement fund to “appropriate charities,” as well as donated food items valued at $5.5 million to charities feeding the indigent. According to the objectors, class counsel owes a fiduciary duty to the class and “[s]omewhere along the way, Class Counsel lost sight of that duty and became an advocate for some unnamed third party charity.” The objectors also argued that the “food donation allows…
The company that makes gourmet cookies sold as “One Smart Cookie™” has filed a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against a company that makes organic cookies sold as the “Original Smart Cookie.” Jimmy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, LLC v. Nature’s Select Food Group, LLC, No. 11-01 (D.N.J., filed April 15, 2011). According to the plaintiff, the defendant sought to register its mark, which the plaintiff opposed, and registration was refused. Still, the defendant allegedly continues to use the name “Original Smart Cookie.” The plaintiff alleges infringement of federal trademark registration, false designation of origin and unfair competition under state and federal statutes, and common-law unfair competition. Jimmy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies seeks injunctive relief, an accounting of profits, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.
Clos LaChance Wines has filed a complaint in a California federal court seeking a declaration that “Mommy” is not a protected trademark when used on a wine label and that the company’s domestic wine products, “MommyJuice White Wine” and “MommyJuice Red Wine,” do not infringe defendant’s “Mommy’s Time Out®” imported wines. Clos LaChance Wines, LLC v. Selective Wine Estates, Inc., No. 11-1848 (N.D. Cal., filed April 18, 2011). Clos LaChance apparently began using its label in August 2010; it includes an image of a woman with four arms juggling a computer, house, cell phone, and teddy bear. Selective Wines, whose label contains an image of an empty chair facing a corner alongside a small table with a bottle and wine glass, purportedly sent a demand letter to Clos LaChance accusing it of infringing Selective’s trademark and demanding that Clos LaChance cease and desist from using the name “MommyJuice” in connection with…
A Florida resident has alleged in a putative class action that Kraft Foods and Hormel Foods deceive the public by selling their prepackaged retail sandwich meat products in a way that suggests they contain far less fat than they actually do. Kuenzig v. Kraft Foods, Inc., No. 11-00838 (M.D. Fla., filed April 18, 2011). The companies allegedly state on their product labels that the sliced ham, turkey and other deli-style meats are 95, 96, 97, or 98 percent fat-free and juxtapose this information with a calorie count per serving. According to the plaintiff, this leads consumers to believe that of the 50 calories in a serving, for example, less than 5 percent comes from fat. Because the products could actually derive one-half of their calories from fat, the plaintiff contends that health-conscious consumers “will continue to be surprised to learn that Products they’ve purchased—and perhaps have repurchased for years—are about ten…
A New York state court has determined that a company which made the butter flavoring chemical at issue in workplace exposure lawsuits succeeded to a predecessor’s insurance coverage rights. Int’l Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. v. St. Paul Prot. Ins. Co., No. 601723/08 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., decided April 11, 2011). Finding that a de facto merger had taken place, the court also determined that the company inherited its predecessor’s liabilities in the underlying diacetyl-exposure actions. A $30.4 million jury award involving one of the plaintiffs in an underlying action is discussed in Issue 361 of this Update.
