Washington – Tuna lawsuit Could Open Pandora’s Box of New Litigation

    47

    Washington – By allowing a New Jersey woman to sue a company over the mercury poisoning she allegedly suffered from eating the company’s canned albacore tuna, the U.S. Supreme Court may have opened a can of legal worms, one observer said.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    On Monday, the nation’s highest court allowed a lawsuit to move forward that was filed by Deborah Fellner, of the state of New Jersey whose diet consisted almost exclusively of canned tuna for five years.

    She sued Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, the maker of Chicken of the Sea brand tuna, for failing to warn her of the dangers of eating its tuna fish product.

    For it’s part, the San Diego, Calif.-based company said it was not responsible for condition, arguing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not consider canned tuna fish worthy of mercury warnings to consumers.

    “Yet again, federal pre-emption took it on the chin,” opined Law & more Editor Jane Genova. “And a Pandora’s Door of state lawsuits has possibly been thrown open in how the food industry does its labeling.”

    Fellner sued under the New Jersey Product Liability Act over her alleged exposure to methylmercury and other harmful compounds contained the company’s tuna fish products from 1999 to 2004.

    U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Cavanaugh threw out Fellner’s lawsuit, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the lawsuit. Without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the appeals court ruling to stand.

    “The tricky question of alleged mercury content in some fish, such as tuna, and its damage to human health can now be explored in both personal injury and class action litigation,” Genova wrote. “Beware the Sushi industry and all its middle-people.”


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    47 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    And if you eat only carrots, you’re gonna sue the farmers for your skin turning orange?

    Mad Hatter
    Mad Hatter
    14 years ago

    At least she never had to wonder what’s for dinner.

    Pashuteh Yid
    Pashuteh Yid
    14 years ago

    Article has no info. What are her symptoms? Also, the mercury was not put there by company, it is a pollutant in the water from other sources.

    Even drinking too much pure water can cause death. Should water have a label?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Anyone who eats only tuna for 5 years is mentally incapacitated and thus should have no standing to bring such a lawsuit.

    Satmar Man
    Satmar Man
    14 years ago

    Another reminder that we need to be aware of improper eating behaviors within the Heimishe community.

    I am not talking about his particular lady, for I am neither aware of her affiliations nor her motivations. However, this “Tuna Can” diet is not unique. Others do it, for it is easy to do, and requires no will power in measuring what they eat.
    Compulsive eaters become compulsive dieters because they are petrified that they are unable to control normal portions.
    So, they cut their food selection down to a minimum, and try to buy pre-packaged and measured foods.
    I have seen this. They bring that can of Tuna with them as a meal replacement. It meets those unlimited protien diets, and works great in dieting, as long we one drinks enough water, etc.,
    But, all it is is replacing one compulsive behavior with another one.

    To get off the compulsive/addictive merrry-go-round, one needs to begin taking responsibility for one’s self, and stop saying, “I can’t control what I eat.”

    We all need to learn to eat a variety of foods, and need to learn to eat normal portions, so we don’t need to use pre-packaging as a crutch.

    For many people, this is very difficult. Especially after being told by others that “You can’t do this. You can’t trust yourself to measure. You need to …..”

    I don’t mean to sound cruel, I do understand how difficult it is. I had to battle down from 300 lbs. I know. But, it only works when we decide to grow up and stop saying “I can’t.” We need to stop blaming others from our past for today’s problems, so we can stop relying on others to live today.

    Notice I am not calling it a disease. Compulsive eating IS NOT A DISEASE. IT IS A BEHAVIOR. One of the worst things one can do to “help” a person with an addictive behavior is to “let them off the hook” by telling them they have a “disease” or “disorder” ….. It is a behavior.

    When we grow up, we take responsibility for today’s behaviors, and we can look for and find the strength to do what we thought was impossible.

    Of course, asking Hashem Yisburach to help can’t hurt… (wink)
    But, the bottom line is each of us must take responsibility for our own actions and behaviors.

    I wish this lady a refiah shleimu, and all people with improper eating behaviors the strength to grow up.

    Satmar Man
    Satmar Man
    14 years ago

    Another reminder that we need to be aware of improper eating behaviors within the Heimishe community.

    I am not talking about his particular lady, for I am neither aware of her affiliations nor her motivations. However, this “Tuna Can” diet is not unique. Others do it, for it is easy to do, and requires no will power in measuring what they eat.
    Compulsive eaters become compulsive dieters because they are petrified that they are unable to control normal portions.
    So, they cut their food selection down to a minimum, and try to buy pre-packaged and measured foods.
    I have seen this. They bring that can of Tuna with them as a meal replacement. It meets those unlimited protien diets, and works great in dieting, as long we one drinks enough water, etc.,
    But, all it is is replacing one compulsive behavior with another one.

    To get off the compulsive/addictive merrry-go-round, one needs to begin taking responsibility for one’s self, and stop saying, “I can’t control what I eat.”

    We all need to learn to eat a variety of foods, and need to learn to eat normal portions, so we don’t need to use pre-packaging as a crutch.

    For many people, this is very difficult. Especially after being told by others that “You can’t do this. You can’t trust yourself to measure. You need to …..”

    I don’t mean to sound cruel, I do understand how difficult it is. I had to battle down from 300 lbs. I know. But, it only works when we decide to grow up and stop saying “I can’t.” We need to stop blaming others from our past for today’s problems, so we can stop relying on others to live today.

    Notice I am not calling it a disease. Compulsive eating IS NOT A DISEASE. IT IS A BEHAVIOR. One of the worst things one can do to “help” a person with an addictive behavior is to “let them off the hook” by telling them they have a “disease” or “disorder” ….. It is a behavior.

    When we grow up, we take responsibility for today’s behaviors, and we can look for and find the strength to do what we thought was impossible.

    Of course, asking Hashem Yisburach to help can’t hurt… (wink)
    But, the bottom line is each of us must take responsibility for our own actions and behaviors.

    I wish this lady a refiah shleimu, and all people with improper eating behaviors the strength to grow up.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I think we should feed her to the tunas!!! Then we’ll see who the chicken of the sea is.

    Why doesn’t she HAVE TO THE PROVE that she ate that brand exclusively???

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Why must people use tuna though? There are fish that are low in mercury such as salmon, sardines, and herring. I also wonder why vegetarian foods such as tofu aren’t also available in cans(so they don’t need refrigeration).

    cdc
    cdc
    14 years ago

    I will sue the egg sellers for my colestrol …. & the meat ….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Illness from the mercury in fish as well as from mercury dental filings is a major concern, and has sickened large numbers of people. Long term exposure to mercury from fish or dental fillings accumulates in the liver, kidneys, and brain and over long periods of time can cause illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivity. Those who are suffering from these will typically not show an elevated blood mercury level, as the body does not store mercury in the blood long term, but removes the mercury from the blood and excretes some of it, but also stores some in the organs long term.

    Milhouse
    Milhouse
    14 years ago

    The important point to remember is that SHE IS NOT TELLING THE TRUTH. No matter how much tuna you eat, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get mercury poisoning from it. The amount of mercury in tuna is just too low to cause any damage. It’s important to realise that the FDA standard for how much mercury is safe is set ridiculously low. It is not based on scientific testing at all. There is only one case in all of history of people getting mercury poisoning from eating fish. So what the FDA did was take a level of mercury KNOWN TO BE SAFE, and divided it by TEN. And canned tuna comes below even that! Therefore there was no reason for the company to warn about it.

    Just because someone claims to have been damaged by some product doesn’t make it true. Remember all those women who claimed that their breast implants caused them all sorts of diseases and damage? They drove a multi-billion-dollar company into bankruptcy, and in the end it turned out that it was all a scam, the implants were perfectly safe all along, but in the meantime Dow-Corning was destroyed, and the shareholders were out over 2 BILLION dollars! That’s money that was simply STOLEN by these unscrupulous liars.

    Or consider the asbestos cases, and the people who have made themselves rich by making KNOWINGLY FALSE claims, stealing money from the shareholders of the asbestos companies and driving an entire industry into oblivion. Shame on them, shame on the breast-implant women, and shame on this woman.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    If the result of this all is better labeling for fish that are high in toxins, it will be worth it. A lot of people are unaware that there are certain fish, including some varieties of tuna, that scientists recommend eating very infrequently.

    Dovid
    Dovid
    14 years ago

    For breakfast I had cereal with milk. Then I sued Kellogg’s for too much sugar in the cereal which could make me diabetic and Golden Flow for not telling me to drink skim milk.
    I had candy jelly fish for a snack, so I sued Bloom’s because maybe my filling will get pulled out.
    For lunch I had pizza, so I sued Haolam because they didn’t tell me to use lowfat cheese and I sued Amnon’s because he didn’t make the crust with whole wheat flour which would be healthier for me. I also sued Coke, because they should have told me that Diet Coke may cause cancer in a mouse.
    Tonight I will look for ways to sue Unger’s for the fish, my wife because she didn’t remove the unhealthy skin before cooking the chicken and the bakery for the fattening Kokosh Cake.
    Tomorrow I will figure out how many different lawsuits I can get from one plate of chulent.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    “The amount of mercury in tuna is just too low to cause any damage. It’s important to realise that the FDA standard for how much mercury is safe is set ridiculously low. It is not based on scientific testing at all. There is only one case in all of history of people getting mercury poisoning from eating fish”

    Even very small amounts of mercury can damage health. The fact that very few die from mercury in fish does not mean that it isn’t a huge source of human illness. The important thing to keep in mind with mercury is that its effects are cumulative, so that someone can accumulate enough over several years from eating high mercury fish or having mercury dental fillings to cause illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity, etc.

    There is no level of mercury that is know to be safe for everyone with long term exposure. Different people have different abilities to be able to excrete mercury, and this depends on many different complex factors such as their diet, and the level of other toxins they are exposed to. For example, those who are iodine deficient are much more likely to have thyroid problems from low level chronic mercury exposure than those who take in plenty of iodine.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Milhouse, there is plenty of proof of the damagaing effects of mercury. The links on this page will take to to over 3,000 medical studies showing the damaging effects of mercury.

    http://www.flcv.com/indexa.html

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    “Illness from mercury in fish or dental filings is a minor concern “

    Not for those like me who suffer from it. For us it can be debilitating.

    “but it is not as big a problem as some would have you think. “

    That is because much illness from mercury is given many different names such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity, etc.

    “As for measuring mercury, there are blood tests, hair tests, and 24 hour urine tests.”

    Those tests are worthless though. Blood tests measure how much is in the blood, which will only show an elevated amonut just after a sudden huge exposure, and not after long terem low level exposure. Hair tests show how much is excreted into the hair, but doesn’t tell you how much was excreted in the the urine or feces. The total amount excreted doesn’t matter anyway, as it is the mercury that is ratained which makes people sick, not the amount excreted. There is no way to tell how much is retained by how much has been excreted. There are even provocative tests where someone’s mercury excretion is measured, then they are given a large dose of a chelating agent, and the amount excreted after that is compared to the previous excretion. This still doesn’t tell how much mercury is in the body and how much damage it is causing.

    “The benefits of eating some fish (not every meal!) outweigh the threats from the minute amounts of mercury.”

    It depends which fish. Tuna is best avoided, however it is a good idea to eat moderate amounts of salmon or sardines.

    I mentioned the conditions chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivity as those are what I am suffering from. They each have groups of symptions but no attributed cause. Many believe the cause for all of those is mercury toxicity.

    warning label
    warning label
    14 years ago

    I am surprised that she did not sue on the basis of her eyes hurting her after looking at a tuna can for the past 5 years.

    I’m in the warning label business and this economy ain’t hurting me. I love the liberals and I love America!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    #28 , does your brother in law have many mercury fillings in his mouth(if so, they need to be replaced before chelation is started), or did he eat plenty of tuna? Fibromyalgia might also be caused by lead or by other heavy metals. Long term chronic low level exposure can cause these problems over many years. The chelation agents(alpha lipoic acid and DMSA )are also effective at removing other toxic heavy metals(DMSA is FDA approved for use to remove lead from the body, however it is also quite effective at removing mercury and other heavy metals).

    Yosele Pondrek
    Yosele Pondrek
    14 years ago

    This whole thing sounds fishy to me!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    19 cans of tuna a day might cause death from mercury in a short period of time, however more than one can a week might in time cause illness. One can of solid white tune a week exceeds the EPA limit for mercury for a 150 pound person.
    To say that something that doesn’t cause immediate death isn’t harmful is foolish.

    me
    me
    14 years ago

    Look at the bright side. Now she doesn’t need a thermometer to take her temperature.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Milhouse, there are many people who are suffering from the effects of mercury including myself. I found that website which not only gives proof of the causation of many common diseases by mercury( they cite a large number of studies as proof) but also in many cases gives the mechanisms by which mercury causes these diseases. Now that there is so much proof, and the mechanisms by which mercury causes these diseases are detailed, how can you honestly keep saying there is no proof? Perhaps you are just unwilling to read the proof, and instead feel more comfortable saying no proof exists.