POISON PET FOOD
CLASS ACTION

March 27, 2007, Los Angeles, California - Helmer Friedman LLP and Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman LLP filed a class action lawsuit against Menu Foods, Nutro Products, Inc., and PETCO— the manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of the pet food linked to the deaths and severe kidney problems of numerous cats and dogs.

Here are the Press Release announcing the lawsuit, the Complaint For Damages (the lawsuit itself), and a News Article from the Los Angeles Daily Journal about the lawsuit.

UPDATE: PET FOOD CASES TRANSFERED TO NEW JERSEY DISTRICT COURT

In addition to our class action lawsuit (Grady, et al v Menu Foods et al), approximately 120 other class action lawsuits have been filed around the Country as a result of the contaminated pet food. On May 31, 2007, a Multi-District Litigation ("MDL") hearing took place in Las Vegas, Nevada to determine what form these lawsuits should take (e.g., whether they should be consolidated into one large lawsuit) and, if so, in what court they should proceed. We had asked the MDL panel of judges to consolidate all of these related lawsuits into a single action in federal court in Los Angeles, California.

On June 19, 2007, the MDL panel issued its order transferring our case and all related pet food cases to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. A copy of the MDL panel's order can be viewed here. Although we would have preferred that these actions be consolidated in California, the MDL panel of judges decided to transfer the case to New Jersey federal court for pre-trial proceedings. Nonetheless, our firms will continue to prosecute this action on behalf of all persons whose pets either died or became ill from ingesting contaminated pet food.

In a related development, the federal district court Judge in New Jersey (to whom all cases have been assigned) ordered Menu Foods to stop the contacting the plaintiffs and class members directly. For more information about this development, go to Law.com http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1180688733567) which has an in-depth article about the Judge's ruling.

Fill out the Survey for potential new clients or class members if you believe that your pet became ill or died because of tainted pet food, and are interested in joining the lawsuit. (Please be aware that giving us information does not, in itself, create an attorney-client relationship).

Here are lists of pet food brands recalled so far (on manufacturer or agency sites):
FDA Summary Page — most complete recall info, with updated links to manufacturer lists
American Veterinary Medical Association — another very comprehensive source
Menu Foods, Inc. — listing dozens of private-label brands
Hill's Prescription Diet
Nestle Purina PetCare Company — including Alpo
Del Monte — including Jerkey Treats, Pounce, Gravy Train, Ol' Roy, Dollar Geneal, Happy Trails
Eight In One, Inc. — including Dingo Chicken Jerkey
Sunshine Mills Dog Biscuits — including Companion, Stater Bros., Champion, Perfect Pal, and Ol'Roy

In total, more than 95 brands of dog and cat food have been identified as possibly being contaminated with high levels of either melamine, a raw ingredient of many plastics, and/or aminopterin, a highly toxic rat poison.

If your pets have suffered symptoms of contaminated pet food, immediately take them to a veterinarian. Do not discard the unused pet food; instead mark it in indelible ink with the words 'Do Not Eat,' ‘Poisoned,’ or 'Contaminated' and make certain to store it in a safe place that is beyond the reach of pets and children. Later, the pet food can be tested for the presence of melamine, aminopterin and other contaminants. In addition, pet owners should save their receipts from where they purchased their pet food, save any veterinary bills and burial bills, locate photographs of their pets while it was alive, take a photograph of their deceased pets, and journal the loss of their pets to establish pain and suffering from the death of the pet.

If you believe that your pet has died or been harmed as a result of consuming the contaminated pet food and you are interested in more information and/or potentially being a representative of a class of similarly situated persons, please contact us:

• Using our new Survey for potential new clients or class members (best option as you will be prompted for the most complete information).

• By e-mail: info@helmerfriedman.com with your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, your pet's name, whether your pet is a dog or cat, the age of your pet, a description of your pet's injury, the name of pet food consumed, the amount of veterinary bills incurred, vet's diagnoses or treatments, all relevant dates, and any other information you would like to give us.

• By fax or mail: with the attached pdf form (Click here for form).

• By telephone: 310-396-7714.

Please note that this lawsuit was filed on March 27, 2007. Class action litigation can take months or years before finalizing class membership or reaching a settlement, so this suit is in the very preliminary stages. We are receiving numerous new client inquiries every day, so please be patient. We will consider all information submitted and our goal is to help as many people as possible whose pets were sickened by this tainted pet food. Updated information will be posted here on our website as the lawsuit progresses.

Please be aware that giving us information does not, in itself, create an attorney-client relationship.

This is an Attorney Solicitation from the partners of Helmer Friedman LLP and Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman LLP. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.