Meat + Poultry - February 2010 - 35

Legal Notice

If You Purchased Certain Vitamin Products
between 1988 and 2000
be something of an anachronism.
But perhaps more importantly, such
trends severely undercut the notion
that generic, commodity-type information provides much real value to
today's consumer.
At the point of purchase, a consumer is presumably much more interested in the nutritional attributes
of Joe's turkey breast or Jane's sirloin
steak than in some random representative number. If Joe and Jane are, in
fact, providing such product-specific
information, such generic materials
are both confusing and redundant, at
best; and if they are not, such materials
may be more than a little misleading.
The other critical external development that has unfolded within this
timeframe has been the information
revolution. While the proposal countenances the idea that video and other
such technology might serve a supplemental role at the point of purchase,
it still insists upon the presentation
of some form of printed information.
Does anyone really think that in today's world it is more efficient or environmentally sensitive to clutter the
retail landscape with mountains of
brochures that will be glanced at, forgotten and thrown on the floor than
it would be to simply direct someone
to a Web page?
All in all and notwithstanding the
government's good intentions, what we
have here is an effort based upon a dubious legal foundation, which will dictate the use of an expensive and inefficient process for getting information
of questionable value to the consumer.
Perhaps given these circumstances,
this whole idea could be returned to
the back burner and we can all give it
another look in the year 2027. ■
Robert Hibbert is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney with K&L Gates L.L.P. which comprises 28
offices in three continents. His practice focuses on
federal regulation of the food and agricultural industries, specializing on issues related to the U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture. He formerly served as a senior attorney with the USDA and also served as
general counsel to the American Meat Institute.
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Your Rights May Be Affected By A Class Action Settlement
There is a Proposed Settlement of a class
action lawsuit regarding the indirect
purchase of certain Vitamin Products. The
lawsuit is called Richardson, et al. v. Akzo
Nobel Inc. et al., No. 99-197, pending in
the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.

The Settling States are Arizona, District of
Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota,
Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont,
Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

What Is the Class Action Lawsuit About?
The lawsuit claims that the Settling
Defendants injured Class Members through
a price-ﬁxing conspiracy that raised prices
for indirect purchases of certain Vitamin
Products, even if the indirect purchases
were of food products including Vitamin
Products as an ingredient or as a part of
animal feed. The settlement is on behalf of
"indirect" purchasers of Vitamin Products,
i.e., purchasers who purchased from persons
or entities other than Settling Defendants or
their co-conspirators.
Settling Defendants deny these claims.
A list of the Settling Defendants is in the
Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement
available below ("Notice").

What Does the Proposed
Settlement Provide?
The Settling Defendants have agreed to
pay $25.03 million. Commercial Class
Members may ﬁle a claim against their
portion of the fund postmarked by April
19, 2010. Due to the large size of the
Consumer Settlement Class, its portion of
the fund will be distributed to charitable
organizations and other eligible entities
approved by the Court.

What Are Vitamin Products?
Vitamin Products are: vitamin A,
astaxanthin, vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin
B2 (riboﬂavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin
B4 (choline chloride), vitamin B5 (calpan),
vitamin B6, vitamin B9 (folic acid), vitamin
B12 (cyanocobalamine pharma), betacarotene, vitamin C, canthaxanthin, vitamin
E, and vitamin H (biotin), as well as all
blends and forms of these vitamins. Also
included is Premix, which is a product that
contains one or more Vitamin Products in
combination with other substances.
Who Is A Class Member?
The Consumer Settlement Class includes:
All persons who a) reside in a Settling
State; and b) indirectly purchased Vitamin
Products for use or consumption and not
for resale from within one or more Settling
States at any time during the "Relevant
Period" deﬁned in the Notice (for most
Vitamin Products, January 1, 1990 through
December 31, 1999).
The Commercial Settlement Class includes:
All persons or entities that made any
Qualifying Purchases at any time during
the Relevant Period. Qualifying Purchases,
the Relevant Period, and certain exclusions
are deﬁned in the Notice.

Who Represents Me?
The Court has appointed Class Counsel.
Although not necessary, you may hire your
own attorney at your own expense. Class
Counsel will request, subject to Court
approval, a) fees to be paid by Defendants
over and above the Settlement Funds and
b) expenses to be paid from the Settlement
Funds. The Attorneys General of the Settling
States are also parties to the action on behalf
of indirect purchasers in their respective
jurisdictions.
What Are My Legal Rights?
s )FYOUWISHTOSTAYINEITHEROFTHE#LASSES
you do not need to take an action.
s )F YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE LEGALLY BOUND
by the Proposed Settlement, you must
exclude yourself in writing. Your letter
must be postmarked by April 19, 2010 as
outlined in the Notice.
s )FYOUREMAININEITHEROFTHE#LASSESYOU
may object to any aspect of the Proposed
Settlement. Your written objection must
be postmarked by April 19, 2010, ﬁled
and mailed as outlined in the Notice. You
also may request in writing to appear at
the Final Fairness Hearing.
Will the Court Approve
the Proposed Settlement?
The Court will hold a Final Fairness Hearing
currently scheduled for June 18, 2010 to
consider whether the Proposed Settlement is
fair, reasonable, and adequate. If objections
have been received, the Court will consider
them at this time.

Further Information
For a Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement and a claim form:

Call 1-866-324-0058

Visit: www.IndirectVitaminsSettlement.com,

Or Write: Vitamins Settlement Administrator, c/o The Garden City Group,
P.O. Box 9258 Dublin, Ohio, 43017-4658
www.MeatPoultry.com * February 2010 * Meat&Poultry * 35

http://www.IndirectVitaminsSettlement.com http://www.MeatPoultry.com

Meat + Poultry - February 2010

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