According to a news source, the plaintiffs and defendants in litigation over a respiratory condition allegedly caused by the daily consumption of microwave popcorn containing the butter-flavoring compound diacetyl have settled the claims following a court’s reduction of the jury’s $7-million verdict to $5.78 million, including fees and costs. Watson v. Dillon Cos., Inc., No. 08-91 (D. Colo.). Additional details about the litigation appear in Issue 497 of this Update. Plaintiffs’ counsel Ken McClain reportedly indicated that the settlement terms were confidential. See Law360, February 24, 2014. Issue 515
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A federal magistrate in Denver, Colorado, has sentenced Eric and Ryan Jensen, who owned the cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak in 2011, to five years of probation, with the first six months in home detention, 100 hours of community service each, and the payment of restitution—$150,000 each—with the money awarded to their victims. According to U.S. Attorney John Walsh, “No sentence of incarceration, restitution or financial penalty can undo the tragic damage done as a result of the contamination at Jensen Farms. Today’s sentence serves as a powerful reminder of farmers’ legal and moral responsibility for ensuring their product is safe.” Details about the charges to which the brothers pleaded guilty appear in Issue 498 of this Update. See U.S. Department of Justice News Release, January 28, 2014. Issue 511
Eric and Ryan Jensen, who owned the cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly 2011 Listeria outbreak, have reportedly urged a court, following their pleas to charges related to the incident, not to sentence them to prison. Additional details about the plea and charges appear in Issue 500 of this Update. They apparently claim that they do not need correctional treatment and have done everything possible to make the victims whole, including declaring bankruptcy to make a pool of money available to compensate them. The brothers pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges that each carry potential sanctions of one year in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, as well as one year of supervised release. A sentencing hearing will be held in late January 2014. According to Eric Jensen’s brief, “this case has already prompted a new awareness of food safety law and the strict liability imposed on producers and food…
Voters in Telluride, Colorado, have rejected a proposed 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in a 683-313 vote. Proceeds from the tax would have reportedly funded youth health initiatives. According to a media source, “Kick the Can Telluride” was “by far the most controversial question” on the ballot, attracting outside interest from philanthropists and industry lobbying groups bankrolling campaigns for and against the ballot question. Additional details about the Telluride SSB tax campaign appear in Issue 500 of this Update. See Politico.com, November 6, 2013; WatchNewspapers.com, November 7, 2013.
Jensen Farms has filed a lawsuit against the company that hired the food-safety auditor who gave the cantaloupe grower a “superior” rating during a 2011 audit not long before the grower shipped fruit allegedly contaminated with Listeria to a distributor that required the cantaloupe to be certified by the auditor, giving rise to a nationwide outbreak that killed 33 people and hospitalized many others. Jensen Farms v. Primus Group, Inc., No. ___ (Colo. Dist. Ct., filed October 15, 2013). The farm has since ceased operation, and the Jensen brothers have entered guilty pleas to charges of adulteration of food and aiding and abetting. According to the complaint, a Primus auditor indicated in 2010 that the cleaning technology used at the farm could potentially contaminate cantaloupe because it used re-circulating chlorinated water. The 2011 auditor, a different individual, was told about changes to the system made in response to the 2010 concerns,…
Eric and Ryan Jensen, who own the Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly 2011 Listeria outbreak have reportedly indicated to a federal court that they intend to plead guilty to the criminal misdemeanor charges brought against them. Additional information about the charges appears in Issue 498 of this Update. The six misdemeanor charges of adulteration of a food and aiding and abetting carry potential jail terms of one year and a fine per charge of $250,000. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly found that the brothers failed to adequately clean their cantaloupes after changing their produce-cleaning system and that their actions were responsible for the deaths of 33 consumers. See NBCNews.com, October 16, 2013.
According to media sources, the campaigns for and against a proposed 1-cent per ounce excise tax on all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) sold in Telluride, Colorado, have stepped up their efforts in advance of November voting. Primarily funded by a Houston-based hedge fund, which donated $50,000 to the cause, “Kick the Can Telluride” has reportedly taken its lead from similar campaigns in El Monte, California, and Richmond, Virginia, and urged local voters to back ballot measure 2A, claiming that the estimated annual revenues of $200,000 would support youth health initiatives now funded by three-year U.S. Department of Education Physical Education Program grants. “If passed, the measure would be the first town-level excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in the United States,” reports The (Telluride) Watch in an October 16, 2013, article about the debate. Meanwhile, the Colorado Beverage Association has apparently joined with local business owners in countering the proposal with its…
Brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen who own the Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly 2011 Listeria outbreak have reportedly been arrested on six misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce and aiding and abetting. According to court records, they purportedly changed their cantaloupe cleaning process in May 2011 and never used the chlorine spray incorporated into the system. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that they “were aware that their cantaloupes could be contaminated with harmful bacteria if not sufficiently washed.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that people in 28 states consumed the contaminated cantaloupe, 33 died, 147 were hospitalized, and a pregnant women miscarried. The brothers reportedly pleaded not guilty and face a December 2, 2013, trial. If convicted, each could serve one year in prison and be fined up to $250,000 for each charge. See DOJ News Release, September 26, 2013; Fox…
A federal court in Colorado has reduced the damages awarded to a man who allegedly contracted bronchiolitis obliterans, a debilitating respiratory condition, after consuming microwave popcorn containing the butter flavoring compound diacetyl. Watson v. Dillon Cos., Inc., No. 08-91 (D. Colo., judgment entered September 5, 2013). The jury awarded the plaintiff and his wife more than $7 million, including punitive damages, apportioned among a number of defendants, and the court reduced the total award by more than half to $3.04 million with interest. Additional information about the lawsuit appears in Issues 244, 454 and 480 of this Update. The court agreed with defendant Gilster-Mary Lee, a private label food manufacturer, that a statutory cap applied to the $800,000 non economic damages award against it because the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered his lung injury and its cause before a statutory cut-off in January 2008. The court further refused to…
A federal magistrate has recommended that General Mills’ motion to dismiss a putative consumer fraud class action be denied without prejudice and that, under the primary jurisdiction doctrine, the suit be stayed “pending action by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] with respect to the referral made by Judge Rogers in Cox v. Gruma. Van Atta v. General Mills, Inc., No. 12-2815 (D. Colo., recommendation entered July 18, 2013). At issue is the company’s claim that its granola bars are “100% Natural” when they allegedly contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Finding that the food-labeling issue falls within FDA’s regulatory authority and that the agency “has not issued a rule which requires products containing GMOs to be labeled as such, nor has the FDA issued a rule regarding whether products labeled ‘natural’ may contain GMOs,” the magistrate found invocation of the primary jurisdiction doctrine appropriate. In this regard, the magistrate stated,…
