SEATTLE, WA – 4,991 individuals who obtained immune globulin shots for immunization during the November 2003 hepatitis A outbreak associated with the Chi Chi’s restaurant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, will be receiving settlement checks in the coming weeks. The US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware approved an $800,000 settlement on December 15, 2005, entitling class members who completed claim forms before the October 24, 2005, deadline to $160.29. After a delay in processing, checks were mailed to all class members on Thursday, January 26.
Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm that was lead counsel in the case, mailed a $50,000 donation to the Beaver Area School District Education Foundation today. The newly-formed foundation will use the money to provide scholarships for students of three Beaver County schools: Beaver Area High School, Center High School, and Monaca Junior-Senior High School. The donation is a portion of attorneys’ fees from the class action settlement.
“We were very pleased with the outcome of this settlement,” said William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. “Maybe one of the kids who receives a scholarship from this fund will go on to become a nurse, or even a liver transplant surgeon. The possibilities are endless.”
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BACKGROUND: Marler Clark and Meyers, Kenrick, and Giuffre successfully settled the claims of 78 victims of the hepatitis A outbreak linked to the Beaver Valley Mall Chi-Chi's restaurant, including the case of liver transplant patient Richard Miller, for $6.25 million. Marler Clark also represents 138 clients in Salmonella litigation against Sheetz and Coronet Foods, which stems from a Salmonella outbreak traced to contaminated Roma tomatoes in 2004.
More about the Chi-Chi's hepatitis A outbreak can be found in the Case News area of this site.