Costco, Diamond Reach $2M Dog Food Recall Class Action Settlement

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Costco Wholesale Corp. and Diamond Pet Foods Inc. have agreed to a $2 million class action settlement over dog food linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened both pets and humans.

Diamond is a major North American manufacturer of pet food products, and sells products under the following band names: Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge; Professional, 4Health, Taste of the Wild, Apex, Kirkland Signature, and Canidae. According to the class action lawsuit, Diamond pet foods were subject to a series of voluntary recalls between April 6, 2012 and May 21, 2012 because they were potentially tainted with salmonella.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with other state and local officials, investigated an outbreak of salmonella infections throughout the country. The investigation revealed that 14 people from nine states had been infected with the same strain of salmonella. The agencies determined that the outbreak originated from exposure to Diamond brand pet food products. Specifically, the investigation revealed that the outbreak originated at the Diamond plant in Gaston, S.C.

According to the class action lawsuit, plaintiff Barbara Marciano purchased Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain from a New York Costco store in April 2012. For one month, she exclusively fed her three dogs this product. One of her dogs became ill and died after eating the dog food. A second dog became lethargic. The third dog reportedly experienced no symptoms.

Marciano’s class action lawsuit alleged negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, strict product liability, unjust enrichment, and other violations of New York law. The parties began settlement talks in January 2013.

On Tuesday, Marciano filed a motion in support of the proposed $2 million class action settlement and requested the certification of three sub-classes:

• Individuals who purchased but never used a recalled pet product, never fed his/her pet or animal the recalled product, and the Class Member discarded or retained the product without returning the product to the dealer;
• Individuals who, in addition to having purchased or used a recalled pet food product, sustained economic damages as a result of injury or death to animals from their consumption of a recalled product; and
• Individuals who purchased pet food products subject to the recalls and fully utilized the products with no resultant ill effects.

Under the terms of the proposed Diamond pet food class action settlement, Diamond will also implement new and improved quality control procedures.

Marciano asserts that the proposed class action settlement “provides a recovery in a case where plaintiff faced numerous hurdles in proving liability and damages, and is certainly within the range of what would be determined to be fair, reasonable and adequate.”

Details on how to file a claim for the Diamond pet food settlement were not immediately available. Top Class Actions will update our viewers when and if a Settlement Website is created. Keep checking www.TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free e-newsletter to receive updates on this class action settlement and other class action news. You can also receive notifications of updates to this article by marking it as a “Favorite” with your free Top Class Actions account.

The plaintiffs are represented by Samuel H. Rudman, Mario Alba Jr., Mark S. Reich and William J. Geddish of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.

The Diamond Dog Food Recall Class Action Lawsuit is Barbara Marciano, et al. v. Schell & Kampeter Inc., d/b/a Diamond Pet Foods, et al., Case No. 2:12-cv-02708, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

UPDATE: Details on filing a claim for the Diamond pet food recall settlement are available here.

UPDATE 2: Class Members report that they have begun receiving settlement checks.