Portland Woman Files Federal Class-Action Lawsuit after Two Cats Sickened by Tainted Pet Food

PORTLAND, Maine – Attorneys for a Portland cat owner Friday filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer of tainted pet food that made her two long-time companions severely ill with permanent kidney failure.

The suit, filed by the law firm Bernstein Shur in U.S. District Court in Portland, claims that Menu Foods Inc., a private-label pet food manufacturer based in Ontario, Canada, sold tainted pet food and then waited too long to announce a recall. Reports indicate that the pet food was contaminated with rat poison.

Plaintiff Mara Brazilian of Portland said her two Persian Hybrid cats, Fred and Barney, were healthy and active before consuming pouch food made by Menu Foods in January. Within days, both cats became ill and were later diagnosed with severe kidney failure.

“Mara has a close bond with these cats, which makes this situation all the more tragic and heartbreaking for her and for others like her,” said Michael R. Bosse of Bernstein Shur, the regional law firm handling the case.

He said the firm is hoping to hear from other pet owners who believe they should be part of the lawsuit. “Our intent with this class-action lawsuit is to provide Mara and other pet owners in the United States with similar claims to have the means to seek damages collectively, rather than by filing individual lawsuits.”

The class-action lawsuit is the first in Maine against Menu Foods. At least three other federal class-action lawsuits have been filed in other parts of the country over dog and cat deaths and illnesses caused by the tainted food. Brazilian purchased pet food marketed under the IAMS brand, which has also been named in the suit.

Both Fred and Barney have lost approximately half of their body weight, Bosse said, and Brazilian must give them each intravenous injections of fluid on a daily basis to keep them alive.

Brazilian had re-located to Maine from California for job purposes just weeks earlier. She has no family ties in Maine, and her cats, acquired together from a pet store 15 years ago, are her sole companions.

It wasn’t until early March – weeks after Brazilian’s cats became ill – that Menu Foods issued a nationwide recall of all its "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. The products are sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

According to the lawsuit, Menu Foods began to receive complaints in early 2007 that pets had died after ingesting its food products. The company began testing its food on animals, and several of the test animals became sick and eventually died. “It is not known how many pets died or were critically injured previous to Menu Foods announcing the recall,” said Bernstein Shur’s Theodore A. Small, who is also involved in the suit.

Since the recall, reports have surfaced in the media indicating that a form of rat poison, aminopterin, which has been banned in the United States, may have tainted the recalled pet food.

Aminopterin can cause kidney failure, the very ailment that befell Brazilian’s cats and has caused the deaths of (or permanent injury to) numerous other cats and dogs in New England and across the country.

To date, several hundred cases of pet kidney failure have been reported relating to the ingestion of the Menu Foods, Small said. Many of the affected pets have died.

The suit seeks damages that fairly compensate the individual plaintiffs for medical costs and emotional pain and suffering associated with the loss of their companion animals.

Brazilian spent more than $1,200 on initial veterinary care, and spends $200 to $300 a month on medication to keep her cats alive. “The money she spends on their care really is secondary to the emotional pain that Mara feels,” Bosse said.

Bernstein Shur is one of northern New England’s largest multi-service law firms, with close to 90 attorneys in Portland and Augusta, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire. Established in 1915, the firm provides practical legal counsel to a diverse group of public and private clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur’s commercial, litigation, and municipal practices are complemented by the services of the firm’s affiliates, which include Bernstein Shur Government Solutions LLC, a government consulting firm; Stratex LLC, an environmental and engineering consultancy; and Monument Title Company. For more information, visit bernsteinshur.com.


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