Hormel, QPP lawsuit comes to an end

Published 10:37 am Friday, February 6, 2009

A lawsuit filed by a federal USDA inspector against Hormel Foods Corp. and Quality Pork Processors (QPP) has been dismissed.

Dale Kinney claimed he was injured after coming in contact with a defective air compression device used to harvest pigs’ brains at QPP on April 20, 2007.

The plaintiff filed the lawsuit in Mower County District Court on three counts of strict liability, negligence and premises liability after he was allegedly “severely injured.”

Email newsletter signup

According to court documents, Judge Fred Wellmann ruled on Jan. 23 in Mower County District Court for a dismissal with prejudice, meaning the case has been dismissed and the plaintiff may not bring the same lawsuit against the same defendant in the future.

Hormel, who was served their complaint Nov. 21, 2008, had filed a motion claiming they would not be able to enter a plea because the charges are “so vague or ambiguous that (Hormel) cannot reasonably be required to frame a responsive pleading.”

Records show the company said in its motion the plaintiff did not “present a short and plain statement describing the grounds upon which his claims rest,” citing the fact Kinney has never worked for Hormel and did not describe his injuries or what allegedly occurred at the plant.

The motion was submitted by Hormel’s attorneys, Ryan Mick and Steven Wells of Dorsey and Whitney, LLP, Minneapolis. QPP was represented by attorney John Beckmann of Austin.

Kinney’s attorney, Paul Dahlberg of Meshbesher and Spence, Rochester, stated in their response that the “injury” the plaintiff inflicted should be obvious, referring to medical investigations by Mayo Clinic, the Minnesota Department of Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Centers for Disease Control into a neurological illness causing symptoms ranging from fatigue to numbness to paralysis. The exact cause is still unknown.

“For Hormel to claim it cannot make out what the complaint is trying to say is absurd,” Dahlberg stated in their response, dated Dec. 17, 2008. The attorney said they cannot require the plaintiff to “plead evidentiary facts,” and asked for the motion to be denied.

Kinney was seeking at least $50,000 in damages.

Julie H. Craven, vice president of corporate communications at Hormel Foods, said in a statement on Thursday, “We were pleased to receive notification that the case was dismissed.”

Attorneys representing the defendants did not return requests for comment by this morning.