$25M Listeria lawsuit against Maple Leaf to include millions for charities

[wahyinghung]

Michael Oliveira, THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - A $25-million settlement agreed to by Maple Leaf Foods (TSX:MFI) in connection with last year's listeriosis outbreak moved closer to official certification Thursday with news that the court action will also likely include millions in donations to non-profit organizations and charities.

Lawyers went before a judge in a Toronto courtroom to deliver the terms of their negotiated class-action settlement and said more than 3,100 people have so far signed up as claimants, which would entitle them to compensation of between $750 and $125,000.

Lawyers hope to unify several lawsuits that have been filed across the country accusing Maple Leaf of negligence.

"The plaintiffs allege that Maple Leaf owed various duties of care to the plaintiffs and other class members and that Maple Leaf breached those duties which resulted in injury," states the suit's factum filed in court.

"It is also alleged that these failures give rise to strict liability, demonstrate breaches of the Consumer Protection Act and provide a basis for a claim in waiver of tort."

The listeriosis outbreak killed at least 20 people last summer and was linked to one of Maple Leaf's Toronto plants, triggering the largest meat recall in Canadian history.

Plantiff lawyer Joel Rochon called the case "the largest human food contamination class action in Canadian history," and Maple Leaf lawyer Steven Steiber said the settlement would represent the most generous compensation package ever awarded in a Canadian class-action lawsuit.

Unless a significant number of new claimants come forward, about $14 million will be needed to provide compensation to all those eligible, so it's been agreed to that the balance of the $25 million will be donated to charities, non-profit organizations and food banks.

But Steiber acknowledged that all the money in the world still wouldn't be enough to satisfy the families of people who died.

"There is no amount of money that is going to be adequate" for them, he told Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell.

The children of a 89-year-old woman who died last summer said joining the lawsuit was more about trying to help prevent another tragedy than just seeking compensation.

"It isn't the money so much; it's to get changes made so this doesn't happen again to anybody," Timothy Clark said outside court. "That's the reason we got into the lawsuit."

An affidavit filed with the court alleges his mother Frances Clark ate tainted Maple Leaf products as she recovered after a fall in a hospital in Belleville, Ont. Upon returning to the long-term care facility where she lived, she consumed more Maple Leaf products and became ill, the affidavit states.

She began to develop flu-like symptoms and her condition quickly deteriorated before she died just days later, Clark said.

"She suffered from seizures, to talking irrational, to unconsciousness - you could just see she was in pain," he said.

"We don't want anyone else to witness what we witnessed," added his sister Karen.

"In this country you don't even question your food source, you just expect it's always good."

The company has agreed to pay $750 to those who suffered for a day or two and $125,000 to people with serious and long-lasting physical injuries resulting from the outbreak.

Payments of $120,000 will go to estates of the deceased, with "additional substantial amounts" to be paid to immediate family members.

Perell said he hoped to release his decision on whether he'll certify the case next week.

The agreement still needs approval from courts in Saskatchewan and Quebec. Hearings are scheduled for March 10 in Saskatchewan and March 20 in Quebec.

[Vansterdam]

fuck the charaties i say the people who were infected should receive more

[hotjoint]

Originally Posted by Vansterdam

fuck the charaties i say the people who were infected should receive more