Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. Files the First Lawsuit in the Nation.
The attorneys at Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. filed the first lawsuit in the nation against ConAgra stemming from the salmonella contamination of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter on February 16, 2007. Since the filing of our first petition, the attorneys at Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. have continued to tenaciously forge the way in the litigation against ConAgra.
Steadfast Determination:
After sending out discovery requests to ConAgra and receiving what we felt to be inadequate responses, Jenkins & Jenkins went before the 40th District Court in Ellis County, Texas on April 20, 2007 asking the Court to Order ConAgra to produce the documents we had requested in discovery. Prior to the hearing, the attorneys for ConAgra and Jenkins & Jenkins were able to work out many agreements in good faith. The remaining issues were all decided in favor of Jenkins & Jenkins by the District Court Judge.
To date our attorneys have received over one hundred thirty four thousand pages of documents (roughly 15% of the expected total) and are continuing to receive documents from ConAgra in a searchable electronic format on a weekly basis. On June 14, 2007 the attorneys at Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. will conduct the nation’s first deposition under oath of a representative of ConAgra.
Coordination with other lawyers:
We held a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on April 5, 2007 of plaintiffs’ lawyers working on these cases. Our goal is to cooperate and coordinate with all the lawyers who are trying to help people harmed by ConAgra’s peanut butter. Working together, the lawyers can insure that we get to the bottom of what happened at ConAgra’s plant quickly, efficiently and effectively.
Plant inspections:
We and our team of experts inspected ConAgra’s plant in Sylvester, Georgia on April 9 and 13, 2007. Among our experts for the inspection, we had former FDA inspectors, industrial engineers, a structural engineer, a microbiologist, industrial hygienists, a sprinkler expert, a roof construction expert, photographers and a videographer. The inspections were incredibly insightful and helpful, but we still have not gotten the many documents from ConAgra that we will need for our experts to evaluate the sources and causes of the contamination fully. We will continue to work closely with our experts, and to coordinate our efforts with the other experts working on this litigation.
Centralization of the federal lawsuits:
The federal courts will almost certainly centralize all federal lawsuits against ConAgra to one Court. There is a hearing on May 31, 2007 to determine if this will happen, and if so, where the cases will be centralized. Lawyers have proposed that the cases be consolidated in Georgia, South Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, New Jersey or Illinois. The Court will not issue its ruling about this at the May 31st hearing, but we will let you know as soon as we hear. The consolidation will affect only the federal lawsuits and not any state lawsuits.
ConAgra’s request for delay:
ConAgra is asking the judges around the country who have lawsuits filed in their courts to stop the proceedings until the cases are centralized in one place. If ConAgra succeeds, that means the cases will not move forward for at least a couple of months. We at Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. have been and will continue to push forward against ConAgra.
Summary of Information Reported in Public Sources:
The Food and Drug Administration has known since 2005 about “an alleged episode of positive findings of salmonella in peanut butter in October of 2004 that was related to new equipment and that the firm didn’t react to, …insects in some equipment, water leaking onto product, and inability to track some product.” The FDA inspectors followed up on complaints of salmonella contamination in the ConAgra factory in Georgia at that time, but company managers would not provide documentation without a written request and the inspectors failed to pursue the investigation. The report also indicated that ConAgra admitted it had destroyed some product in October 2004, but would not give a reason why. Nothing more happened on the matter until February of this year, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the FDA of a rise in salmonella cases in states surrounding Georgia. The plant was shut down at that time. Washington Post 4/23/07
The Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. Congress held hearings on April 23, 2007 where victims of illness from contaminated food urged lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation’s food supply. Incidents of contamination have raised concerns about the safety of the U.S. food supply and efforts of the FDA and other government agencies to keep the food supply safe. Testifying before the committee at the hearing were families affected by contaminated foods, food distributors, and representatives from food manufacturers. The Washington Post 4/24/07
Family members of people sickened by contaminated peanut butter testified at the Congressional hearing on April 23, 2007, asking legislators to strengthen federal regulation of the nation’s food supply. The Atlanta Journal Constitution 4/24/07
ConAgra Foods blames moisture from a leaky roof and a faulty sprinkler as the source of the salmonella bacteria that contaminated peanut butter at its Georgia plant last year. ConAgra contends that the moisture mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant which came in contact with the peanut butter before it was packaged. Atlanta Journal Constitutional 4/6/07
A dead rat, rat traps, roaches and bird feathers were found at the inspection of the ConAgra peanut butter plant in Sylvester, GA. The rat and bird feathers were found inside the plant along with more than 100 rat traps. Roaches were found crawling on the raw peanuts. One of the attorneys attending the inspection was threatened with arrest for attempting to collect and preserve the dead rodent found at the facility. The Herald 4/26/07
Right now we are continuing to push ConAgra to respond to what is called “discovery.” On this past Thursday, May 10, 2007 the attorneys for Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. and those representing ConAgra were once again before the 40th District Court in Ellis County, Texas to argue over the production of documents. Prior to the Judge’s ruling both sides were able to come to an agreement by which Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. should receive substantially all of the documents responsive to our discovery requests by June 7th, 2007.
Representing plaintiffs are Kathryn E. Barnett of the Nashville, Tennessee office of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Clay Jenkins of Jenkins & Jenkins, P.C. of Waxahachie, Texas, and Robert H. Smalley, III, of the Dalton, Georgia law firm of McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham, LLP.
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