Consumer Law

This is NUTS! Literally. Corporate Bailout trend reaches new heights of insanity.

By Kia Franklin

Also could be titled: "Safety is Too Expensive Business Model, Pt. One Billion Two."

Or: "Sure, I'll obey the law, if you give me some money first."

Or: "This is nuts! It makes me sick!"

You get the point.

I am not going to add much to the commentary, except to say that this is just the height of lunacy here. We're going to bail you out because you poisoned us? Sickening! (Again, quite literally.) From DailyKos:

Congress today questioned the president of the peanut company blamed for the salmonella outbreak that has thus far sickened at least 600 people, more than half of them children, and may have killed at least 8 people (while the congressional hearing was taking place, a possible 9th death was reported). Peanut Corporation of America President Stewart Parnell refused to answer questions from the House of Representatives? Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, citing his right against self-incrimination under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution. Based on the internal company documents the Subcommittee members showed him during the hearing, it appears there is plenty of incriminating evidence out there.

Elizabeth Wydra's diary :: ::
One particularly egregious e-mail shows Parnell complaining about lost profits while the federal government investigated the peanut-related salmonella outbreak. The e-mail said the time required to deal with contaminated products, some of which had been shipped, was "costing us huge $$$$." In another e-mail, sent on Jan. 19, Parnell sent a message to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pleading with the agency to let it stay in business. He wrote that company executives "desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money."

It is certainly an outrage and a tragedy that people have lost their lives or been sickened because executives cared more about putting peanut products into the market for profit than ensuring their food products were safe. At the hearing today, Jeffrey Almer of Savage, Minn., described how his elderly mother survived lung cancer, a brain tumor, and other illnesses?and then she died from salmonella poisoning. "Cancer couldn?t claim her but peanut butter did," said Almer.

Adding insult to this horrible injury, a recent judicial opinion raises the possibility that American tax dollars may be used to compensate Peanut Corp. for the profits it lost in (eventually) complying with the recalls and other restrictions placed on its products as a result of the salmonella scare. As I have discussed here, the Federal Circuit is currently considering the Rose Acre Farms v. United States appeal, which presents the question of whether the United States must compensate Rose Acre Farms more than $5.4 million under the Takings Clause due to temporary food safety restrictions imposed after Rose Acre?s eggs caused hundreds of people to suffer salmonella poisoning. (Keep Reading)

Okay, I guess the folks over at the FDA deserve Wall St style bonuses now, too, for failing to properly regulate the industry.

Update: check out this related post by the folks at ThePopTort.

Full post as published by TortDeform.com on February 11, 2009 (boomark / email).