Tiger Brands has reached an agreement with Richard Spoor Inc and LHL Attorneys for advance payments to be made to those people seeking interim assistance to address urgent medical needs arising from the Listeriosis outbreak between 2017 and 2018.
This is while a class action lawsuit continues into reportedly the largest listeriosis outbreak in history, which killed over 200 people and impacted more than 100 others.
The outbreak was caused by contaminated processed meats produced by Enterprise Foods, a subsidiary of Tiger Brands, leading to a recall of products from Enterprise Foods, RCL Foods Limited, and Rainbow Chicken facilities.
In a statement on Monday, Tiger Brands said the parties were engaged in discussions to extend the relief to other qualifying claimants in a similar position.
In late October 2024, Tiger Brands reported that the company's attorneys were engaging with the plaintiffs' attorneys (Richard Spoor Inc and LHL Attorneys), to agree on relief for qualifying individuals with urgent medical needs, even though liability has not yet been determined.
To protect the privacy of the individuals, no details of the payments will be made public.
"We are glad to have open lines of communication with the defendants at this critical time in the class action. This is an important inroad and a first step in the parties' efforts towards justice for the victims of the listeriosis outbreak. The interim advance payments will go some way towards relieving the acute needs of the recipients." said Richard Spoor, Founding Director of Richard Spoor Inc.
"The legal process has proved long and arduous. Even though liability has not yet been determined and Tiger Brands has no legal obligation to provide interim relief at this stage in the class action, the interim advance payment to some claimants with urgent needs recognises the debilitating circumstances in which they find themselves. Where the company has been provided with the required information and documentation to enable decision-making in the process, we will act swiftly. Today's announcement represents an important milestone," said Tjaart Kruger, Chief Executive Officer, Tiger Brands.
"Further to today's announcement, engagements between the parties' legal representatives will continue with respect to the assessment of several claimants who may qualify for assistance within the confines of the current process. In addition, endeavours are ongoing to explore a broader resolution of the class action in total. We hope to be in a position to make further announcements in this regard soon.
"We are particularly pleased to report that progress has been made in our longstanding efforts to access the NICD's records relating to their investigation of the listeriosis outbreak. The NICD has agreed to cooperate with us and will be making their records available to the parties as soon as possible. We believe that access to the NICD's records will greatly assist the parties in moving the matter forward," said Kruger.
The class action lawsuit, which is being managed in two stages, is still in the first stage, during which liability is to be determined by the Court. Only if Tiger Brands is found to be liable will the issue of causation arise in the second stage of the class action, as well as an assessment of compensation payable to qualifying claimants for damages suffered.
