Moving In-House
As you might have heard, I’m leaving Stoel Rives LLP this month, my professional home for almost 14 years (and parts of three decades). I am honored and humbled to have been asked by The Kellogg Company to join them as their in-house food safety and quality lawyer.
My departure from Stoel Rives is bittersweet. I will miss greatly my colleagues, clients and friends. Without doubt, Stoel’s food practice is the strongest in the region. This blog is among the most read in the industry. In my absence, you can look forward to continued discussion of the relevant issues in the industry from these and other Stoel attorneys:
- Rick Goldfarb, one the nation’s foremost commercial lawyers, who has decades of involvement with the food industry;
- Lee Smith, who is focused on the Food Safety Modernization Act, California Proposition 65 and other regulatory compliance issues; and
- Anne Glazer, who is focused on counseling her clients on food labeling and marketing issues.
You can reach me at kmodza@gmail.com or through LinkedIn. If you find yourself in southwest Michigan, please look me up.
Introducing The Alcoholic Beverages Law Blog
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By Guest Blogger Stephanie Meier
Stoel Rives’ Food, Beverage and Hospitality Group have launched a new blog focused on the alcoholic beverage industry.
The Alcoholic Beverages Law Blog provides wineries, breweries, distilleries, cideries, distributors and importers with articles and information across a broad spectrum of state and federal alcohol beverage law. The authors work on alcohol beverage related projects from our bases in California, Oregon and Washington, throughout the Western United States and beyond. The blog lets them share with you their passion for and experience with key legal, business and regulatory issues, and provides a forum for industry feedback, questions and discussion.
Introducing the Essential Nutrition Law Blog
Our colleague Mike Mangelson and a team of Stoel Rives lawyers spanning numerous practice specialties have recently launched the Essential Nutrition Law Blog. Stoel Rives attorneys work closely with companies engaged in the research, development, production, and sale of dietary and nutritional supplements, energy and nutrition beverages, herbal supplements and functional foods, and the Essential Nutrition Law Blog will be an excellent resource for interested parties to look to for the most recent legal developments in the field. We at the Food Liability Law Blog are happy to add another member to our blogroll, and are looking forward to learning from and working with our colleagues at the Essential Nutrition Law Blog to deliver timely and consequential reports on the hot topics in our fields.
Jim Prevor Deconstructs CSPI's List of "Ten Riskiest Foods"
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has released its list of "Ten Riskiest Foods Regulated by the FDA." The list has gotten a lot of publicity, particularly because some unexpected foods like potatoes made the list.
Our friend Jim Prevor, the Perishable Pundit, has written a Special Edition of his newsletter that pretty much says everything about the list that we would say, so I'm just linking to his article. The only thing I'd add is that Stoel Rives were co-sponsors of the conference he mentions in the article, along with Bill Marler. Otherwise, thanks for doing the good work, Jim.
UPDATE: Being the total gentleman that he is, within hours of Friday's post Jim emailed me that he would add a credit to Stoel Rives on his entry. And of course he did.
Participate in USDA Governance in Your County
The Stoel Rives Agribusiness Group has sent out an alert reminding farmers and ranchers of the USDA's program that allows you to participate at the county level in discusssions relating to agricultural decisions in your community. The link to the website with materials needed to submit nominations (which opened on June 15) is here.
Ken, Bryan and I are all members of the Agricubusiness Group, along with lawyers experienced in all manner of topics related to agriculture. You can subscribe to its alerts here.
PCA Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
It will come as no surprise that Peanut Corporation of America has filed for bankruptcy protection in the Western District of Virginia.
According to the bankruptcy filing, PCA claims to have debts of only between $1 and $10 million, and between 100 and 199 creditors. My colleagues in our Business Finance and Insolvency group tell me there is little penalty for any inaccuracies in these particular boxes on the cover sheet to a bankruptcy filing.
Two points are critical: they filed for Chapter 7 liquidation, not Chapter 11 reorganization. While voluntary Chapter 7 filings are not typical, they are less unusual than you might think.
The other point comes from a box checked on the cover sheet. It reads, "Debtor estimates that, after any exempt property is excluded and administrative expenses paid, there will be no funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors."
Tort clamants, i.e., the victims and families of victims, are unsecured creditors within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Code. In essence, PCA's assets, such as they are, are being turned over to its banks, and except to the extent of any insurance that may be available, the victims will have no recovery from PCA.
