Monday, February 25, 2008
It has been a while since an update has been posted. There are two
reasons: (1.) Nothing much new has occurred, and (2.) Your fearless leader
broke his hand in three places and had surgery to have a rod placed in it to
hold the bone fragments together - hence I am pecking each letter and it
hurts to type!
TOLLING AGREEMENTS:
For our clients who reside in Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee,
your one year Statute of Limitations has expired. A Statute of Limitations
period is the time within which you have to file a lawsuit on a personal
injury claim, or your claim may be forever barred under state law. However,
for these three one-year states, we negotiated an agreement with ConAgra
that in exchange for a waiver of the one-year Statute of Limitations period,
we agreed not to file the thirty or so separate lawsuits our clients would
represent from these three states. In other words, folks in Kentucky,
Tennessee and Louisiana, we have you covered.
WHY HASN'T THIS CASE SETTLED?
We feel there are a number of reasons why this case hasn't settled
yet:
1. We believe there remains appreciable insurance coverage issues
between ConAgra's self-insured portions of this claim, and any payments
above ConAgra's amount, called "excess coverage." AIG (American
International Group, Inc.) provides excess insurance coverage for ConAgra.
2. Insurance Defense Lawyers: If the case settles, this group of folks
stop making money. They also are the group that advises ConAgra as their
legal counsel. Accordingly, in these cases there always is an element of
defense counsel's desire to keep a case going in order to bill their client.
I was a defense lawyer for eight years and certainly can understand to a
point.
Contrast this peanut butter case to the recent drug litigation of
Vioxx. Vioxx was alleged to cause ischemic strokes and heart attacks (we
handle approximately 30 of these claims). The manufacturer, Merck, drew a
hard-line stance and refused to settle claims vowing instead to fight each
one. They did for a number of years, winning about 70% of the cases they
tried. They lost a few, one in Texas for over $300 million. Finally, when
Plaintiffs' lawyers grew weary of the fight, Merck offered a global
settlement that, in our estimation, does not accurately reflect the damage
its drug caused. But the tired Plaintiffs' lawyers signed on which in
essence validates Merck's strategy of winning this case by attrition.
In your case, we have the funding and stamina to continue this fight
all the way through trial. We will not, with the support we have seen from
our clients during this past year, fall to attrition against ConAgra's
financial might.
3. ConAgra and its lawyers continue to attempt to calculate the
universe of claims that are out there. That is, they continue to meet with
large and small groups alike in order to assess the total number of valid
claims they face. In our group, for example, when you folks first contacted
us, we screened your cases carefully. If your cases is with us, rest
assured we found that all the facts you gave us seemed to point to a valid
claim. We stand behind you the same as you stand behind us. The Orlando
Firm, P.C. (Atlanta) and Bellovin & Karnas, P.C. (Tucson) have invested in
excess of one-half million dollars to develop your cases, rest assured, we
believe in you.
CONAGRA CHASES PROFIT:
The settlements reported to date by ConAgra have been nuisance value
to those unwilling to wait for just compensation. Every time you cruise the
aisle of a grocery store and see Peter Pan peanut butter, let alone ANY
ConAgra product, remind yourself and others that ConAgra thought fit to
recommence selling its brand before ever making right its prior poisoning of
you or your family member.
Moving forward in its profit quest without caring for those it
harmed previously is wrong. That is why you have us.
OUR FAMILY:
My hand hurts so I will stop typing. I do wish to say that I am
tickled that so many folks call or write directly to me, Zany Dunlap (mass
action litigation paralegal) or Andrew Dunlap (our IT guy, and Zany's
husband). I welcome getting close to our clients and having each of you
become members of our family. And since the last posted update, two more
law firms have entrusted their clients to our group for their Peter Pan
Peanut Butter cases. We won't let you down.
Thank you - Roger W. Orlando
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