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14 Annual Australian HACCP Conference August 2, 2007 Queensland, Australia
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Marler Clark, LLP PS Since 1993 Marler Clark has represented thousands of legitimate food illness victims in every State. Settlements and Verdicts – total nearly $300,000,000. Most cases are NOT “Class Actions.” Why?
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Class Action Litigation of FBI Claims in the US Purpose behind Civil Rule 23 -Class - those that have suffered similar harm -Administrative Efficiency -Conservation of Judicial Resources -Prompt Achievement of a Group Remedy
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Health Department Involvement
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Class Action Advantages 1.Cost-effective method of handling small claims - cost of litigation outweighs potential recovery 2.Cases with common issues of law and facts 3.Method of effectively imposing cost of wrongdoing 4.Uniform treatment of a Defendant in one forum
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Class Action Requirements 1.Numerosity - large enough to make individual suits impractical 2.Commonality - class members have legal and factual claims in common 3.Typicality - claims and defenses at typical of the plaintiffs or defendnats 4.Adequacy of Representation - Representatives adequately protect interests of Class
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Foodborne Illness and Class Actions - Reality Burden on Party Seeking Certification Predominance - common issues as opposed to individual, fact-specific issues and conflicts Superiority - the class action, instead of individual litigation is a better method of reaching resolution
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Foodborne Illness and Class Actions - Reality Class Actions in FBI cases are rare - only a handful in past 15 years Why? - Liability would be the same - Strict Liability - Causation can vary widely - culture positive? -Damages - vary widely - how to combine the sick for a few days with death in one case? - Commonality and Typicality failure. Option, “sub-classes,” Opt-in, Opt-out
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Foodborne Illness and Class Actions - Examples 1980’s - Salmonella Outbreak tied to contaminated Milk 1993 - Jack in the Box E. coli Outbreak 1994 - Schwan’s Salmonella Ice Cream Outbreak 1997 - Salmonella Outbreak tied to Florida Restaurant 1997 - Salmonella Outbreak tied to Nursing Home 2000 - Norovirus Outbreak in Restaurant 1990’s and 2000’s - Hepatitis A - Ig vaccine Class Actions
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Class Action Recent Developments Peter Pan Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak CDC - 628 Culture-Positive S. Tennessee Cases However, over 30 Class Actions with 50,000 Claims - What gives?
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But, Class Actions/Litigation Can Work – A History Lesson Jack in the Box - 1993 Odwalla - 1996
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What Will a Jury Think? A Jury=12 Consumers
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6600 Bank of America Tower 701 Fifth Avenue Seattle, Washington 98104 1-800-884-9840 www.marlerclark.com Questions?
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