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 The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Tuesday said a
lower court judge should have granted judgment as a matter of law to
ConAgra, whose products include Chef Boyardee pasta, Hunt's ketchup
and Peter Pan peanut butter.
ConAgra had hired West Side Salvage Inc to help save the contents of
a wheat pellet silo at a facility in Chester, Illinois, located
about 60 miles south of St. Louis.
According to court papers, the silo had been smoldering for several
weeks before it exploded on April 27, 2010, injuring Justin Becker,
who was employed by West Side, and John Jentz and Robert Schmidt,
who were employed by a subcontractor.
Jentz suffered burns covering more than 70 percent of his body,
while Becker's lungs were scarred from the inhalation of fumes, the
papers show.
 In 2012, after a three-week trial, an Illinois federal jury ordered
Omaha, Nebraska-based ConAgra to pay $100 million of punitive
damages to the workers, and share responsibility with West Side for
more than $77 million of compensatory damages.
Writing for a three-judge 7th Circuit panel, however, Circuit Judge
Frank Easterbrook agreed that ConAgra was not liable under Illinois
law for having hired West Side, an independent contractor, to
address an unsafe condition in the silo because the "feared event" -
the explosion - occurred.
"West Side could have negotiated for an indemnity or insurance for
its benefit (and that of its workers and subcontractors) but did not
do so," wrote Easterbrook.
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The 7th Circuit also upheld compensatory damages awards against West
Side, but dismissed a punitive damages award. It returned the case
to U.S. District Judge Michael Reagan in East St. Louis, Illinois to
decide indemnification issues.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. A lawyer for West Side did not immediately
respond to similar requests. A ConAgra spokeswoman had no immediate
comment.
In June 2012, ConAgra said it believed insurance would cover the
damages that had been awarded, minus a deductible.
The case is Jentz et al v. ConAgra Foods Inc et al, 7th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, Nos. 13-1505, 13-1542, 13-1543 and 13-1544.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
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