Judge Certifies Malt-O-Meal Case as a Class Action

A Minnesota state court judge has certified a case against the Malt-O-Meal Company to go forward as a nationwide class action on behalf of "all persons in the United States who became ill as a result of eating cereal contaminated with salmonella bacteria which was manufactured between March 1998 and May 1998 by Malt-O-Meal at its plant in Northfield, MN."

In his order, Judge John Sommerville ruled that under prevailing law the court has jurisdiction over the nationwide class; that the process of resolving the claims via a class action was manageable; and that the court could appropriately apply Minnesota law in the adjudication of all claims since Malt-O-Meal's principal place of business is in Minnesota and the salmonella contaminated cereal was manufactured in Minnesota.

The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Keller Rohrback L.L.P., a national class action law firm based in Seattle and Zimmerman Reed, P.L.L.P., with offices in Minnesota and Phoenix. In the past, both firms have represented people injured by contaminated food and foodborne illness litigation.

"The court's ruling makes it possible for the plaintiffs and class members to pursue their claims, both large and small, and to receive fair compensation for their injuries," said Britt Tinglum, partner for Keller Rohrback. "Contamination of the food supply in the U.S. has become a significant problem with more and more incidents occurring where consumers are unwittingly purchasing contaminated food and becoming severely ill after consuming it."

In addition to the case against Malt-O-Meal, Tinglum stated that her and the Zimmerman Reed firm have also undertaken an investigation of contaminated food sold recently by Sara Lee and Oscar Meyer..