Maple Leaf Foods: A Case Study in the Persistence of Memory
Maple Leaf Foods is Canada's largest food processor, and as the name implies, it traces its history a long way with our neighbor to the north. It has always prided itself on its food safety procedures.
Last year, as was widely reported, more than 20 people all across Canada died from listeriosis traced to one of Maple Leaf's processing plants in Toronto. A huge recall of Maple Leaf products was ordered. Recently, the company settled class action cases for a reported $27 million.
Perhaps Maple Leaf thought that put it all behind them. Hardly. A Thomson-Reuters article described how Maple Leaf considers itself well-placed in the current economic environment. The story is 11 paragraphs long. Five of the paragraphs tell the company's story. Six of the paragraphs, including the lead paragraph and the final five, are concerned in whole or in part with the listeriosis outbreak, plus a new recall of frankfurters and hot dogs.
People have long memories. The article in today's Wall Street Journal that peanut butter sales in the four weeks ending February 21 dropped 13.3% compared to the same period last year is just another indication of that.
"Canada is Next"
Anyone interested in trends in cross-border mass-torts litigation and the nightmare this is becoming should read a recent article in Bloomberg Law Reports entitled "Brave New World: The Dawn of Hyper-Complex Litigation"In the article, appears the following:
"The Canadian Double-Down"
"At a January 2008 products liability symposium, a well-regarded New York City plaintiffs’ attorney stood before a room of lawyers and in-house counsel. The topic of his presentation was, in part, to forecast the next direction of mass tort litigation. His message to those listening was clear. 'Canada is next.' "
The article goes on to explain that the threshold for mass tort class actions in Canada may now be lower than in the U.S.: "in certifying the class, the [Canadian] court was not troubled by the fact that class members could not prove a present physical injury or a 'foreseeable and recognizable psychiatric illness' as a result of the alleged product defect."
The bottom line advice in the Bloomberg article, as it has been in this blog, is that businesses (especially those in the food industry) need to continue to re-double efforts at risk avoidance and crisis management. As courts outside the U.S. become more open to mass tort claims, exposure for businesses selling products internationally only amplifies.
