Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Peter Pan/peanut butter case remains a fast and forward moving
case. M. David Karnas and Roger W. Orlando both have maintained a rigorous
schedule in moving your cases. Recent events include a number of meetings
with ConAgra. Note that the contents or conversations/negotiations during
these meetings are "protected" from use, and in some instances, disclosure
under Federal Rule of Evidence 408*. Accordingly, we will only describe the
agenda in short, general terms:
MEETINGS:
August 13, 2007: Meetings in Phoenix with the three top outside legal
counsel for ConAgra as well as with R&G Medical nurse-case reviewers. In
this meeting, we agreed on several general concepts and agreed-to-disagree
on several others. In essence, the meeting produced the initial stages of a
frame-work toward the potential to settle cases of all severity and proof
levels. Orlando and Karnas then returned to Tucson to continue individual
case development work.
August 21 and 22, 2007: Orlando and Karnas invested a day and a half with outside counsel, once again, with the addition of lead corporate counsel for ConAgra at ConAgra's international headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. We were
joined by insurance/risk management directors from the company. The
concepts initiated on August 13th were greatly expanded and we were able to
agree on a number of "categories" into which typically presented cases (scientific and anecdotal proofs, degrees or severity/length of illnesses
and other factors) likely fit. Our chief expert epidemiologist presented
some epi curve (proven manufacturing date range of potentially adulterated
peanut butter) and onset epi curve (proven date range within which we would
expect a valid illness to develop) findings and laboratory proofs to ConAgra
for consideration and in support.
August 29, 2007 (UP-COMING): ConAgra's chief corporate counsel and lead
outside counsel will meet with us further at their offices in Tyson's
Corner, Virginia to continue these negotiations and to begin, with any luck,
to place settlement dollar values on different categories created in Omaha.
September 5, 2007 (UP-COMING): The first MDL Hearing before Judge Thomas
Thrash in Federal Court in Atlanta. We have preliminarily scheduled a
dinner meeting with ConAgra legal counsel around this time, in Atlanta (Mr.
Orlando gets to stay home that night - his 4 year old son will be pleased),
hopefully to continue to solidify agreements and potential settlement plans.
RESPONSE TO QUESTION:
Some clients (New Mexico and New Jersey) have called or written to
ask: Why do your meetings take place at different locations all over the
country?
It's not that we like traveling and incurring the associated case
expenses. With this many lawyers of different disciplines and skills from
all over the country, scheduling and meeting planning become difficult
challenges. Therefore we often find ourselves away from our families
pursuing these cases in different locations in order to accommodate the
schedules of the many lawyers and experts involved in order to make these
meetings - and potential results for you - a reality.
Also, it may be less expensive for us to fly someplace to meet with
an expert rather than bring the expert to us and incur his/her travel costs
and fees (we do not bill you for our time while sitting on an airplane with
an IPod while an expert typically receives several hundred dollars an hour
to do the same).
SAVING YOU MONEY:
In what can be described as a unique (uncommon) agreement, we
reached a deal with ConAgra to share R&G Medical's talent as a servicing
agent collecting, reviewing and organizing your medical records, along with
completion of agreed-upon questionnaires). This arrangement greatly
simplifies and expedites the presentation of your individual case facts to
ConAgra for settlement consideration. Rest assured that we review all
materials before they are uploaded onto a ConAgra-accessible portion of the
website.
The beauty of our arrangement with ConAgra is that ConAgra has
agreed to share the costs associated with R&G Medical's case triage, labor
AND the costs associated with obtaining your medical records. This results
in substantial savings up-front for everyone. It also suggests a measure of
good faith by ConAgra.
RESPONSE TO A QUESTION:
A Georgia client has asked a two-fold question: Who writes these
updates and are things always as favorable as they are portrayed?
I, Roger Orlando, write these updates. Keeping the updates in the
third-person maintains the professionalism of the website and is easier to
transition between all parties involved without losing a reader to too many
pronouns. I chose to write updates myself as I am most intimately involved
with the events described, further case handling and strategic plans.
So far, things have fallen into place and have, indeed, proceeded
well on all of your cases. I can attribute much of this to our expertise
(Orlando in science and case management and Karnas in the Class Action/Mass
Tort arena). Also, there has been much, very hard work and long hours.
David Karnas and I are in constant communication. There has been no need to
report anything unfavorable as not much activity has transpired thus far
that ended in "unfavorable" results. Realistically, they will come. I will
report poor results or poor settlement considerations if and when they
happen. But for now, all is well and moving forward.
There HAVE been some troublesome developments on a small number of
individual cases, such as illness diagnoses contrary to salmonellosis
(salmonella infection) and lid codes outside the epi curves, but these will
be handled on a case-by-case, individual basis.
A NOTE ON SETTLEMENT:
As you have read, there has been negotiations in earnest with
ConAgra on settlement money for individual cases and well as cases that fit
into pre-defined categories. REMINDERS: We will NOT settle anyone's case
without your xpress authority to do so for an amount you will know in
advance. We WILL continue to look at everyone's case individually - that
is, no one will be recommended to settle your case simply because it falls
into a defined "category" unless that defined category best describes your
situation and, in our experience, represents a positive and realistic result
for you.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
For those interested in further information and reading, the
following websites are provided for your information as the identity of
these groups working for you are no longer "secret" or privileged:
R&G Medical: http://www.rngmedcons.com
Dr. Mel Kramer, our expert epidemiologist, who we have placed under
exclusive retainer to us in your case: http://www.ehagroup.com
This Orlando/Karnas Group websites: Expertly created and maintained and
these updates promptly uploaded by my dear friend, Andrew Dunlap, owner of
Zany Technology, he can be reached at andrew@zanytechnology.com.
CALL OR WRITE WITH QUESTIONS:
Remember, we work for you. Call us toll free at 1-866-373-1800 or
write me at roger@OrlandoFirm.com if we can be of further service.
Thank you, as always, for your trust and confidence.
_____________
*Rule 408. Compromise and Offers to Compromise
1. (a) Prohibited uses.-Evidence of the following is not admissible on
behalf of any party, when offered to prove liability for, invalidity of, or
amount of a claim that was disputed as to validity or amount, or to impeach
through a prior inconsistent statement or contradiction:
(1) furnishing or offering or promising to furnish or accepting or offering
or promising to accept a valuable consideration in compromising or
attempting to compromise the claim ; and
(2) conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations regarding the claim, except questionnaires offered in a criminal case and the negotiations
related to a claim by a public office or agency in the exercise of
regulatory, investigative, or enforcement authority.
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