Hawaii Pet Food Settlement Announced

May 21, 2008 – Two Honolulu attorneys today announced settlement of a class action lawsuit against pet food manufacturer Menu Foods for selling contaminated pet food to Hawaii pet owners last year. Thomas Grande of Grande Law Offices and Emily Gardner of Clay Chapman Crumpton Iwamura & Pulice represented Hawaii consumers.

“We’re extremely pleased with the settlement, which sets up a fund for reimbursement of the cost of recalled pet food, as well as veterinary examinations that were conducted to verify the health of pets following Menu Foods’ announcement of its recall,” said Gardner. Gardner said that the settlement is only for owners of pets that did not suffer injury or die. “Cases in which Hawaii pets became ill or died are being litigated separately in state court due to the individual factors involved in each of the claims,” she noted.

Grande said that the Hawaii class action settlement is significant for several reasons. “This case was the first case against Menu Foods in the United States that was certified as a class action and was the only class action to be litigated in state courts,” Grande noted. “The remaining 120 class action cases filed across the United States and Canada are being settled on a group basis, leaving each state and province to compete for a limited amount of funds,” he said.

The Hawaii settlement sets up a $240,000 fund for payment of class claims, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs associated with administration of the fund. The attorneys estimated that several thousand pet owners might be eligible to participate. Those who purchased Menu Foods recalled products can be reimbursed for the cost of the pet food they purchased and for the cost of a veterinary examination to ensure their pet’s health upon providing proof of purchase of products and veterinary services. A claim form and complete information is listed on a new Web site created for this settlement.

“We understand that many people may not have kept receipts of their pet food purchase,” Grande noted. Under the terms of the settlement, funds that are not claimed by consumers will be donated to the Humane Societies on all islands, enabling Hawaii’s pets to benefit from the settlement.

Information about the Hawaii settlement is available at http://www.menufoodshiconsumersettlement.com.

Cat Product Recall List: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html

Dog Product Recall List: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html

Download the claim form: 7-page claim form PDF document

Download the settlement agreement: 37-page PDF document (4MB)