Back to all newsNinth Circuit seals highly favorable outcome for CW client in civil jury trial
November 2019
In 2013, federal authorities linked a hepatitis A outbreak in the western United States to consumption of Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend, a blend of frozen fruits sold at Costco. CW's client, a multinational corporation, produced one of the multiple ingredients used in the Antioxidant Blend. The FDA and CDC identified CW's client as the sole cause of the outbreak. At trial, however, CW exposed flaws in the FDA and CDC analyses, and the jury held CW's client liable for less than 7% of the $40 million in damages caused by the outbreak. CW also handled the appeal, where the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with CW's client, affirming the jury's favorable compensatory damages award and striking the jury's unlawful punitive damages award.