By Sterling Anthony, CPP, expert witness, packaging, warnings, patent-infringement, cargo loading and securement, insurance claims on loss cargo
Case synopsis
The Plaintiff milled flour, which it packaged in 50-lb. bags, palletized. There came a time when Plaintiff contracted with Defendant for the supply of wood pallets. Subsequently, Plaintiff received a series of complaints about off-odors and illness associated with the flour.
Plaintiff checked its warehouse and discovered that the off-odors consistently were present in product on Defendant’s pallets. Laboratory testing revealed that the pallets were the source of the off-odors and product contamination. It turned out that the pallets had been constructed out of lumber that had been sourced out of South America and had been treated with a certain fungicide to prevent the growth of mold.
The inventory was declared unsalvageable and Plaintiff sued for the value of the inventory and the amount of refunds to customers.
I was retained by Plaintiff.
My opinions
The fungicide breaks down into a chemical compound that emits off-odors that impregnates packaging and contaminates product. Such tendencies on the part of the fungicide is known within the U.S. food industry. Ingestion of the contaminated product can cause a variety of gastronomical distresses. The fungicide had been banned in the United States for use on wood pallets, 10 years prior to Plaintiff’s losses.
Defendant held itself out as a seller, supplier, or broker of wood pallets to the food industry, and, therefore, knew or should have known about the unacceptable risk posed by the fungicide.
Defendant held itself out as a seller, supplier, or broker of wood pallets to the food industry, and, therefore, should have taken steps to determine whether its lumber supplier used a banned fungicide.
Defendant held itself out as a seller, supplier, or broker of wood pallets to the food industry, and, therefore, should have disclosed to Plaintiff any and all chemical-based treatments that had been used on the lumber.
Defendant, having visited Plaintiff’s facilities, knew Plaintiff’s purpose for the pallets.
Defendant breached the industry standard of care by failing to supply wood pallets fit for their intended use, specifically, the packaging, storage and shipment of bags of food grade flour.
Defendant breached the industry standard of care by failing to disclose to Plaintiff that the pallets were assembled with lumber that had been treaded with a banned fungicide.
Defendant’s actions and inactions were the direct and proximate causes of all damages claimed by Plaintiff.
Result:
The case settled
Sterling Anthony, CPP, is a consultant to the industrial, institutional, and government sectors who also provides services to the legal community as an expert. He is a former manager at Fortune 100 companies and a former instructor at two major universities. His contact information is: 100 Renaissance Center-Box 43176, Detroit, MI 48243; (office) 313-531-1875; (cell) 313-623-0522; (fax) 313-531-1972; thepackagingexpertwitness@gmail; www.thepackagingexpertwitness.com