Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark

Time has come to begin trying to hammer out financial settlements for hundreds of people who were sickened by a batch of salmonella-tainted tomatoes last summer. Marler Clark represents 98 of the more than 400 people who were sickened in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and six other states after eating Roma tomatoes served at Sheetz stores last year.

As the Associated Press reported yesterday:

Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who specializes in food-related illness, said Wednesday that if a judge approves, he will begin talks with attorneys for the Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz convenience store chain and its former supplier, the now bankrupt Coronet Foods Inc. of Wheeling.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Edward Friend still must approve the mediation, but Marler said that's likely now that the framework for the talks has been laid out.

Marler said claims in the current case range from $30,000 to $800,000, depending on the severity of the victims' illness, whether they were hospitalized and whether they have continuing health problems.

"I have settled several thousand salmonella claims," Marler said. "If the insurer is being reasonable and the clients are being reasonable, these cases should settle."

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Bankrupt Coronet Foods is now facing a lawsuit by 92 people from several states. On Wednesday a judge ruled the people who claim they got sick after eating tainted roma tomatoes could sue the store that sold them, and the company that supplied them, Wheeling based Coronet Foods.

"It's clear that the tomatoes were supplied by Coronet. Under the law they are strictly liable, said the attorney representing the complainants, Bill Marler.

Coronet laid-off their entire workforce after the salmonella outbreak when more than 400 people got sick. The judges ruling says now they are responsible for those who got sick. The attorney representing those who say they got salmonella says he would like to settle the dispute outside of court through mediation. He says coronet was against it.

"Coronet and their insurance company were simply not interested in doing that. The bankruptcy court therefore allowed us to get out of bankruptcy court and file our claims in state court, said Marler.

The president of Coronet says he just found out about the ruling but his attorney says mediation was not a problem.

"We didn't object to mediation. We believe mediation probably would be the best thing for all of these claims. We want to make sure everyone who had some potential responsibility was involved in mediation, said Coronet Attorney, Eric Anderson.

Meantime, the plaintiffs are asking the judge for what they call full and fair compensation.

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As the Associated Press reported today, a West Virginia federal bankruptcy judge has allowed us to sue on behalf of more than 80 people who were sickened by salmonella-tainted tomatoes the company supplied the tomatoes and the Sheetz convenience store chain.

Federal Judge L. Edward Friend II signed an order yesterday allowing plaintiffs to sue Coronet Foods Inc., a bankrupt Wheeling, W.Va., company, and Sheetz after attorneys for Coronet said they didn't want to mediate the lawsuits.

Coronet shut down in October and filed bankruptcy shortly after a few lawsuits were filed. The company has $11 million worth of insurance covering it.

Food inspectors also said Coronet and Sheetz did nothing wrong, but under the law they can be held liable because they supplied and prepared the tomatoes for human consumption.

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In an article yesterday by the Associated Press, I said I no longer plan to sue Sheetz, the convenience store chain who sickened over 400 people with salmonella-tainted tomatoes. But I'm still planning to sue Coronet Foods, the bankrupt company which supplied the tomatoes. A bankruptcy judge signed an order Wednesday allowing Coronet to be sued.

More than 400 people were sickened last year in Pennsylvania and eight other states after eating tomatoes served at Sheetz stores.

As I told the AP, most claims will be for less than $100,000 to cover medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.

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Attorneys for more than 80 people who claim they were sickened by tomatoes served at Sheetz convenience stores in Virginia and other states last year want a bankruptcy judge to O-K a plan to mediate pending lawsuits.

Seattle food-illness attorney Bill Marler asked a federal judge in West Virginia to allow plaintiffs' attorneys to bargain with those representing Sheetz and Coronet Foods. Coronet is the now-bankrupt company from Wheeling that sold the salmonella-tained tomatoes to Sheetz.

Any settlements of less than 50-thousand dollars would be paid outright; larger settlements would need court approval.

More than 400 people were sickened in nine states -- including Virginia -- in the outbreak at the Pennsylvania-based chain of convenience stores.

The Centers for Disease Control traced the tainted tomatoes to a Florida packing house which it has not identified.

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Rotten tomatoes anyone?
Tomato supplier for Sheetz ceases operations, blames bad publicity

In the not so distant past, Coronet Foods, the tomato distributer for sandwiches sold at Sheetz convenience stores, ceased operations at its plant in Wheeling, West Virginia, leaving 220 workers without jobs. The company blamed its going out of business on bad publicity from the summer's salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 400 people, about 330 Pennsylvanians and another 80 people in nearby states.

Marler Clark represented 107 people affected by the salmonella outbreak. We filed three lawsuits as a result of the outbreak, all targeting Coronet. They have plenty of insurance to cover the claims, and we are in the process of trying to reach fair settlements for everyone.

Blaming adverse publicity from a salmonella outbreak this past summer that sickened more than 400 people, Coronet Foods said it was ceasing operations today at its plant in Wheeling, W.Va., leaving 220 workers without jobs.

The plant, which supplied bagged salads, vegetables and fruits to customers in about 20 states in New England, the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic region, informed its workers at the close of business yesterday, said Ernie Pascua, the company's chief executive officer.

"There was a lot of hugging, a lot of tears," Pascua said last night.

In some cases, several generations of family members have worked for the company, he said.

Coronet distributed sliced Roma tomatoes used in sandwiches sold at Sheetz convenience stores. About 330 Pennsylvanians who ate the sandwiches got sick with salmonella, and the outbreak is believed to have sickened another 80 people in nearby states.

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In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story Tomato supplier for Sheetz ceases operations, blames bad publicity, Joe Fahy and Jerome Sherman reported today that Coronet Foods, tomato distributer for sandwiches sold at Sheetz convenience stores, was ceasing operations today at its plant in Wheeling, West Virginia, leaving 220 workers without jobs. The company blames its going out of business on bad publicity from this summer's salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 400 people, about 330 Pennsylvanians and another 80 people in nearby states.

Marler's Seattle-based firm has filed three lawsuits as a result of the outbreak, all targeting Coronet. He said the company's decision to go out of business would not affect the lawsuits.

"Coronet has enough insurance to resolve all the claims," he said. "We're hopeful we can eventually get through this, either by litigation or settlement."

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