Animal Law
Pet Food Companies to Pay $24M Settlement
Posted May 23, 2008, 07:56 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Companies that sold contaminated pet food have agreed to pay $24 million to resolve more than 100 consolidated lawsuits.
The proposed $24 million settlement is in addition to $8 million already paid to pet owners, USA Today reports. Legal fees and expenses will be paid from the fund.
The agreement will reimburse pet owners for reasonable costs such as veterinary bills and burial expenses, the Associated Press reports. The deal also allows owners to recover the fair market value of pets that died if it is higher than the money they spent on their animals.
Pet owners who don’t have records of their expenses can recover up to $900.
The suits say at least 3,730 pets died after eating food contaminated with wheat gluten imported from China. Some suits had sought recovery for pet owners’ emotional distress.
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