Top Class Actions
Wright County Wrong Eggs. A class action lawsuit was filed this week against Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. This is the not so small footnote to the largest recall of contaminated eggs in recent history.
In fact, the lawyers who filed the class action believe that there may be as many as 76,000 class members, given that a recently enacted Egg Safety Rule states that for every case reported there may be 38 cases that go unreported. The FDA reports that at least 550 million eggs have been recalled so far. That’s a lot of scrambled eggs!
Wondering if you could be a class member? You qualify, apparently, if you purchased eggs from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms from April 9, 2010 (Julian date 99) to August 21, 2010 (Julian date 230). Part of what the lawsuit is seeking is reimbursement for the purchasers.
But, the lawsuit also seeks recoveries on behalf of all consumers who died or were injured from salmonella enteriditis contaminated eggs. According to the press release, “The FDA reports that the salmonella infected eggs has sickened nearly 2,000 people… Infections from salmonella enteriditis can spread into the bloodstream, then to other areas of the body, such as the bone marrow or the meningeal linings of the brain. The infections can lead to severe and fatal injuries, including endocarditis. In addition, class members who recovered from salmonellosis may later develop recurring joint pain, reactive arthritis, and Reiter’s syndrome.”
Better check those eggs!
Top Settlements
Kodak Moment? Eastman Kodak has finally reached a settlement in the race discrimination class action brought against it by African American employees.
The settlement also reportedly resolves race discrimination claims made in a related case, Alston, et al. v. Eastman Kodak Company, Civil Action No. 07-cv-6512. According to the Eastman Kodak class action settlement agreement, the amount of $9,655,500.00 will reportedly be paid to the Kodak Class members as follows:
a. Category A: for each Class member who signed a release of claims in connection with Kodak’s TAP program, he/she shall each receive $1,000.00. There are reportedly 1,180 Settlement Class Members in this category. The total amount allocated for this group is a reported $1,180,000.00.
b. Category B: for each Class member who executed an ADR release but not a TAP release, he/she shall each receive $2,250.00. There are reportedly 79 Class Members in this category. The total amount allocated for this group is a reported $177,750.00.
c. Category C: for each Class member who did not execute either a TAP or ADR release, and who worked at least six months or more for Kodak, he/she shall each receive a minimum of $3,000.00 plus an amount proportionate to the number of weeks he/she worked for Kodak as reflected in Kodak’s electronic records provided in this litigation. For each Class member who did not execute either a TAP or ADR release, and who worked less than six months or more for Kodak, he/she shall each receive $1,000.00. There are reportedly 1,762 Class members in Category C. The total amount allocated for this group is a reported $8,297,750.00.
Bayer Headache. And Bayer is slowly working its way through several thousand Trasylol lawsuits, having settled approximately 200 of 2000 cases that allege that the drug, which was designed to control bleeding during heart surgery, has caused serious adverse events such as kidney failure.
The various cases are being represented by different law firms, with different settlement outcomes, according to a report on law.com.
And, according to Bloomberg, in August, Bayer agreed to pay roughly $60 million to settle some 150 Trasylol lawsuits. The average settlement there was about $400,00 per patient.
So far, no cases have actually made it to court, if my sources are correct. And law.com reports that Bayer’s financial statements show that as of July 12, 2010, there were 1,450 Trasylol lawsuits pending. So watch this space, more news to follow.
Ok. That’s it for this week. I hear the bar calling my name…