HomeMy WebLinkAbout96-03640
~,
~
)i
~
t--
~ I
~
~ I
~ i
i
I
~ I
I
I
~ ~
I
~
~
",
'\.
,c
..'
.,1"
,r
j
I
I
(
\.
~
b
~ '-> 'I
, I
j ~ I
, .~
~.
~
~l
,'I
~
, ;+
8
a
~\-
__I.
\
1 t
\,
NO. 'I6-J(I..jO CIVIL
410 Pu,Super. 591.600 A,2d 610 (1991), While lhe ~ CUNC iuvolved U Nlightly dlllcrent
fueluul Ncenurio, illN upplicuhle to the inslunt mUlier, Inlhut cuse. lhc lriul courl' N order grunting
sUl11mary judgmenl precedcd nny rcsponseN tOlhc pltlintllrN diNcover)' rel/ueslN, Ilcre, thc
delcndlllltN huve responded 10 SOI11C discovcr)' rcqucsls hUlnololhcrs. The Superior Court's
declsloll stnnds Illr thc principlc thul u non-l11oving purty muy oppONe U SUI11I11UI'}' judgment
motion 011 the grounds thlllltrequires udditlollultimc to COl11plCIC relcvunt dlscovcry muliers,
The delcndnnts' NUllJllJury judgmcntllJotionllsserls lhe plulnlilrs Inuhillty tu elil11lnllle
secondnry clluses of injury und hcr inllhilily to prove lhulthe dclccloccurrcd whilc In the control
of the delcndnntN, The Superior COlll'l reccntly dcult \\'ith thiN issuc In the cuse of Dtll1snk v,
Cameroll Cocn-Colu 1l01l1ilH! ('0, Inc.. 70J ^.ld ,Ill9 (I <)97). InllunNuk, the defcndunt bOllling
compuny l1Ied u llJotiunlllr sUl11mury judgl11cnt In u prlllluctN Iiuhilit)' uctiun l1Ied by u
convenience store cmpluyec who suffcrcd InjuricN lu her hund us shc wus stocking u slurc cooler
with beverugeN In hOllies llJunulaclured by the dclcndunl. While removing u bUll Ie frullJlI bux.
shc wus cut by glllss IrollJlInother brokcn bOllle. Thc dclcndunt's llJollon urgued thutthe
plaintiff could not ellllJinalC thc pONNibility of ubnonnulusc or sccondury causcN UN bclng the
source of hcr injury, !IL lIt491.
The Superior Court's lcngthy una lysis of thc 1lJ1I1Ier cun bc sUllJllJarized liS follows:
Spe:ilicnlIy, the court held thutlhc lo\\'er court's gl'llnl ofsullJl11ary judgllJcnt \\'us Improper and
the plaintiff should hllvc been pel'lnlllcd to prescnt her cuse to u jury. Thc court rcileruled the
propositionthllt \\'hcnthc plulnllfrs cUNe In chief' docs not rcvculmishllndllng, uhnormul use,or
II secondury cuuse of the uccidenl. thcnthe llJuller IlJUY go to the jury hUNed on circumstantilll
evidence, !IL ut 497,
:1
......ItJ '
NO, 96.3640 <.'IVII.
TIII:5, In u prllllucts liul1ility cuse the pluintilT seeks
tu prove, thl\Jul!h whutever lllelll1S he ur she hus
uvulluble under the circulllstunces of the cuse, lhut
u productwus detective when itleli the hunds of
the munutaclurer. In some cuses. the plulntilTllluy
be uhle to prove thutlhe product suffered thllll u
specific delect hy pmducing cxperttestllllony 10
expluinto Ihe jury prccisely how thc pmductwus
defective und huw lhe dclectllluSI huve urisen
frolllthc Illunufacturer "I' seller, In cuses uf u
manulacturing detect. such cxperttcslimony Is
certuinly desirahle frolllthe pluintilfs pcrspcctive
hut it is not essentiul. Thc pluinliff. even without
experttcstimony urlicululing the specilic delect,
muy be uble to convince u jury that the pmduct wus
detective when itleli the seller's hunds hy
pmducing circumsluntlal evidence, Such
circumstuntiul evidence includes ( I) the
malfunction uflhe product: (2) expertteslil1luny us
to u variety ofpo.l'.I'ih/l! cuuses: (3) the timing ufthe
mulfunction in relation l<1 when the pluintiff Ilrst
ubtained the prlll!ucl: (4) similar accidents
involving the sume prodact: (5) diminution of
uther possihle causes uf the accident: and (6) prouf
tending to estublish thutthe uccident dues nut
occur absent u manulllcturing detect.
liI. at 496, [citations omilled, emphusis in the ,lriginall
Here. the Injury to the pluintiff I:, consistent with the ingestion of a piece of glass, The
presence of such gluss in a 1i1Od pmduct is quite clearly u "mulfunction," It would uppear, under
Dunsuk. that the plaintiffs cuse cun proceed. ullcast in purt, on circumstllntlul evidence.
O!WFR
AND NOW, this
/1' duy of September. 2000,the Illotion of the defendants for
4
,. <"I ...
, [.-
,.
.:t "..-r:
)".
-, ;;.~
~'.
""
: ,<:-!
, I' , (n
.) .
'II , r'~
(1] I'llil
L, , JIl.
c.: :~t!
., e
'J l":l
Foods, and contained a toll free telephone number connecting callers
to Defendant Harmel Foods.
B. on June 29, 1994, another relativo of Plaintiff heated and
eorved sauce from the Cantoneso Classic jar to Plaintiff. When
Plaintiff took her first swallow of Cantonose Classic sauce, an
inedible object hidden in the sauco lodged in her throat.
9. Immediately after Plaintiff had tried anrl failed to rqmove
the object from her throat, blood began flowing out of both sides
of her mouth as the object lacerated her throat. Plaintiff proceeded
to the bathroom and attempted to spit up the object, but could only
spit up blood instead. While Plaintiff was still in the bathroom,
the object left her throat and went into her stomach.
10. Inspection of the jar revealed a thin nick about three-
quarters of an inch long on the inside rim of the jar. Plaintiff
therefore believes and avers that the missing sliver of glass from
the jar had fallen into the sauce and was in fact the object she
swallowed,
11. Plaintiff sought medical treatment for her wounds the next
day and incurred medical bills in the amount of approxim~tely
$600.00.
12. For approximately two months after her injury, Plaintiff
suffered substantial discomfort in her throat every time she
swallowed.
13. Plaintiff does not know whether or not the glass sliver
ever left her digestive tract. From time to time, she does suffer
occasional pains in her abdomen that may indicate the continued
presence of the glass sliver. Plaintiff therefore remains exposed
., . ,"
f I..
I " .-
II( "-;
,
i: h. i
, !
I , ,
L; ". j
oj "
I... '1.1..
I
"
'. , ,
,', ~
~.,
".
I': ....
r .. I,"
~" ~, , j
" , ,
('
.1. }
. ,
'{' \,') '.f
I" (-, ,l-.,j
II'
f..*, '. ~ r. .r.)
\. ~.;i '\~
,
" ,'J ,
u u' \J
Foods, and cont,linl!d ,) toll lp!.! t.l.!b!phono nllmlJnr connl!ctln'J cill LeL'l'
to Dofundant HormoL Foodu.
ll. On .June 29, 1994, o1nothur rolatiVQ of Plaintiff heatod and
served sauco from tho Co1ntoneso Classic jar to Plaintiff. When
Plaintiff took her first swallow of Cantonese Classic sauce, an
inedible objoct hiddon in the Billlce lodged in her throat,
9. Immediately after Plaintiff had triod and failed to remove
the object from her throat, blood began flowing out of both sides
of her mouth as the object lacerated her throat. Plaintiff proceeded
to the bathroom and attempted to spit up the object, but could only
spit up blood instead. While Plaintiff was still in the bathroom,
the object left her throat and went into her stomach,
10. Inspection of the jar revealed a thin nick about three-
quarters of an inch long on the inside rim of the jar. Plaintiff
therefore believes and avers that the missing sliver of glass from
the jar had fallen into the sauce and was in fact the object she
swa llowed.
11. Plaintiff sought medical treatment for her wounds the next
day and incurred medical bills in the amount of approximately
$600.00.
12. For approximately two months after her injury, Plaintiff
suffered substantial discomfort in her throat every time she
swa llowed.
13. Plaintiff does not know whether or not the glass sliver
ever left her digestive tract. From time to time, she does suffer
occasional pains in her abdomen that may indicate the continued
presence of the glass sliver. Plaintiff thorefore remains exposed
,
. ~
... :g
\';1 , N
(;: ~
t.l J'. ~
-. , - ~ ~ ~
~l~ ..
~..:: ~
;. ( "-
~f u "
6:!; ] :.'j 'R ~ ~~
d,: -.
r .'1) ,<:.:::) ~ ~~
I ,.,/ I"I!,.,: <::::)~
..' ' ,,'"
,. I ,till t- l.r)
Cl IJ' ,;11.,;
en . ) ~
')
~
,
'tl !
~ I::
10 I:: .
0 i-4
..~ :. i-4
. ~ ~ i-4
:E~ oIJM
Gl Qj ~Gl~
... "" ~~ .S I: GlGlO
~ 0 tn'-....
~ Ii .~ 'M oW ....t
.~ tno j +' Glen III If
I> I::U U :I llQ
.~ Qj - 10 I( ..c:1(Cl\
U I:: ~8 1>0 tn~ ~
Qj ~ Gl'~ I 1<
0 '- ,~ ~ te 'M 1
.. .... ""~ ' I> ~ Gl..
II) 0 .~ ~....N 1
M 10 ~ U :lUlUl I
I '- ~ ~ ~.~-
II) 'tl I:: ........
Cl\ I:: .c '- ~ 1
10 00 00 a.... , [
en tete "'Ill ... ,
~ I
I
I
I
~. .:l"
,.
f~ J.n.
U I~ . I.~
1.,)(, d.
p: , ,8
[ I.
'. "') 'm
" , '"
,r.. ,'t:'..:}
,.11, i;rl1
l'.. .. \P-
I c
I' I,,", ;'l
(.) I...
~
il: trJ
I-,~F; ..;.
.,
(,. ,
"'"i" '-,.
I'" I .".J
I,~ r ,.
0: I.. ,j
'i')
"I ":)1
u!! " ' J ~~ il
I " t;j
'I (.~
I..) 1.'1 )
f;1 i.J
HOUSE OF TSANG, LTD./ and
HORMEL FOOD CORPORATION,
Defendants
SANDRA IRENE WOLF'E,
Plaintiff
vs.
t IN 'ruE COUR'l' OF COMMON PLEAS OF
t CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
I
I
t
t
I
CIVIL ACTION - LAW
96-3640 CIVIL TERM
JURY TRIAL REQUESTED
RETURN OP SERV~~~
[/ John Wesley Woigel 111/ certify that I have served a copy
of tho writ of summons In the above matter on the Defendant, Harmel
Food Corporation/ at 1 1I0rmel Place, Austin, Minnesota 55912-3680.
Service was made by certified mail with retllrn receipt, and accepted
by Nancy B. Matt on behalf of Defendant Harmel on July 6/ 1996.
j~'7 /. ~ (',II ~I
pate
"
"I ') ). 1 (r!
~l .Ji'i_ (~I (I "'~'t''; .....'
ohn Wesley Weigel tII, EsqUire.
Attorney for Plaintiff
50 East High Street
CarliSle, PA 17013
(717) 243-1985
, .Compl.. n;"" , end/o, 2 'or IddIfIofW MMct,
eComplttlUItmI 3, 41, and 4b. .
... ":; r.~~.-"" ...."'.. on th. ",_. 01 IhI'form 10 rh., w. can ""urn 'hi.
.Alt~. I, tonn 10 1'- 'rool oIlhe malr~, 01 on fr'le bti<*" aplce \$oN not
I . e:,:'R""'m R_", R..,_,.., on l/la '""'.._ balow m. 'Old. _..
ti .~...~~~ Rtcelpl Wllllhow 10 whom !he 1t1ld, w.. deJ4vlfW1 ~ lhe dill
g
,
(./v,',,'!/.,,){ ("'11"-'" ("',1
I fl"" "'I.' I (')", e
fiv);;v. /t!/V tr'I/,I j6,yo
S. A.e.IVad By: IPt1nt N."",)
JI
6. Slgn.lu,e: IAdd"'.... 0' A.(}.nt)
X
I .'10 wfeh '0 rec.,v. 111.
follOwing 18/V1e.. (lor en I
.><1,. I..):
I. 0 Add'.....'. Addreee ~
2. 0 A.etl1eted O.lIvery .!
eon.ult PO.bne.'.r for Ie.. I
4.. Art1el. Numb.,
''/7.:< .3
4b. SelVle. Typ. J
o A.gl.t.r.d 1\1' C.l1lfted
o e.p,... Mall b Inau,od .r
o A.rum Aacelpll.r Men:hand.. 0 COO !
7. Oa,. of ellv ry - _~
--P t. !
6. Addr . 'a Add'.a. IOnly II requ..,.<r- is
nnd Ie. · p.ld) t.
60 ,... '~
..1.... 1\1 F.
I.. [\i ..,~
r' ) ~...
It
t' I; "J
',. :";:
(':' c..
~" ':./
" r..;, I)
rj', C'..~ .
k ~, c ;';)1
":1
. _. ,.I..
...
I, ~, ~I a
( - u ,
e
rr. eX) '\...
- 1_,
('.', .. >'5
UI',") ~ 1. ,
fi~r: ' .~ \"
-. r~ll'
~l.. <-I
'~, .. ~.) I.j
C:l b 1 It.\J
cA. F.j I')'q
.'ili.;
r <.r. 'nj
q~ lCl i)
l.... 0")
~Il
,
. ,
,:,',
I', ,.1
, I
,
1!~=1i
n =:Ir
If a;;~
i':---a;;ii '
u.........=4
Ii~~
~~;
i;)
l
'n
Cl
.Jl
:11
,u
or
:r
u.
~
'"
..
:;,
~
"I
~
-.: .... r....
:::: ts ~ C
...:.:ll,f)f-
... -
--,c
~ ~ .~l~
~ G:I: '"':
iit E 11.:t
;.,sJl.f
~;;:cR
... ,,,U
~
iit
..
::::
c
....
C'\.H
Ln"
r~:l
(~::
~..
....,1
~.::..
~'::;t
t.,.
t,J' .,-
.. ,~ ..
\ ,.'
~"'"
-;J ~
.. ,~..
ti.:",
:ll',
I.:,~ .
~'l:.
f{;:~
~~.,:
"-,...r
::,,-,.
~::.~ ';
t-
O
...
"l'
'tl '"
.j.J
..:l t5
.
tl' .
~ 0
III U
III III
E-< ."
e. g
.. III
..
r...
~
~'g.
e~
~
.
',t,' .
"
....., .
',.
.'
,
I<
.. "
~
i
-
.
\ I II I
i
~, 'J'
,
~. .. , ,
(r
'-'l
I"
..
I
t~
..
.'1
\-~ ,T
, ~
..:
,~
.~
'-
:::
'-
:~
:x
,
.:
~
'I ~
"
....
\'11
,
,
.
,
, .
.. !
"~ 'I
.~..} ..
,
',' .
,.
,
.,', i I
~ ~ l. \
"
.; ',~I , ".J
,
, { r
..'
.~ '.
. ,J~
',I.:
,.
J .,
"
" i.'.
,
.
I :
", I
'\ ~ I
I
~ i I
~C
, ~l:
. 'I
~ .
1'.
, ;
1"
'.
."
',l
;.
,
"" ,
\ J' ,
: ':'
, .
, '
'1 i
.
'" !
~ I:
III = .
0 1-4
. 'M S 1-4
. OJ 1-4
'B~ -I'M
III ~ ti~
~ ,JJ I: III 0
~ .S 0 0I~r-
~ 0 .... 11"4.a,.1~
'M :- 010 I -I' III III 111 i[
> 1:1I U :- (Xl
'M III - l\l oC .coCa>
U I: ~8 to. 01 Po ~ 'll
III ~ IlI'M I 1<
0 ~ 'M ,-4 tc .. l"')
or 1-4 ~ro. > ~ Q) or I
'4l O~ CI) 'M -I'~N I
1"1 III U :-cncn I
I ~ III Q) ~'M - I
'4l 'tl ~ e I: ~...
a> I: .c ~ ~ I
I
III 00 ooar- I
~ C/l == 1")111 - I
I
I
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE,
Plaintiff
IN THE COUR'r OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
vs.
CIVIL ACTION - LAW
96 - 36 LfO CIVIL TERM
HOUSE OF TSANG, LTD., and
HORMEL FOOD CORPORATION,
Defendants
JURY TRIAL REQUESTED
PRAECIPB FOR WRIT OF SUMMONS
TO THE PROTHONOTARY:
Please issue a writ of summons for the above matter to
the following Defendants:
House of Tsang, Ltd.
'185 Berry
San Francisco, CA 94107
Hormel Foods Corporation
1 Hormel Place
Austin, MN 55912-3680
~A!1 I, (rr~
pate '
Re~ectfully submitted,
~4 U~ W~iJlJ '
d n Wesley w:(gel I, Esquire
50 East High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 243-1985
q l.,,~ 0
, 1';)') "~I
:
"n: .. '-;: .....
, , "
[l; I I ., I\~
'"
or",' 'rfJ
I... il-
" .'!ll)
r ~ ~' -" "I
',.;, I...,
. .! . '. 'l"
. ,> t, )
.:- ~ ) 111
I
1~1 ~;!
r,~'1
","
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE,
PLAINTIFF
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
v,
HOUSE OF TSANG, LTD.,
and HORMEL FOODS
CORPORATION,
DEFENDANTS
96-3640 CIVIL TERM
BEFORe BAYLEY. J.
QBDER OF COURt
AND NOW, this 14th day of October, 1996, the preliminary objection of
defendant In the form of a demurrer to plaintiff's complaint, IS DISMISSED,
John Wesley Weigel, III, Esquire
For Plaintiff
I
Gregory S. Hlrtzel, Esquire
100 South Queen Street, 3rd Floor
Lancaster, PA 17603
For Defendants
" '.AJ''''. . ",,,..l",C 1(\/'1/(((,.;
~.."'~ .-1 l ,
:saa
,.'"
5. To the extent the averments of this paragraph are not
erroneous conclusions of law, they are denied. To the contrary,
House of Tsang is an autonomous business entity independent from
Hormel Foods and not a mere instrumentality of Hormel Foods,
6. Denied. After reasonable investigation, answering
defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a
belief as to the truth of the averments of this paragraph, and if
relevant, strict proof thereof is demandeQ.
7. Denied. After roasonable investigation, answering
defendants are without knowledge or information sufficient to form
a belief as to the truth of these averments and strict proof
thereof is demanded,
8-13. Denied. After reasonable investigation, answering
defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a
belief as to the truth of the averments of these paragraphs, and if
relevant, strict proof thereof is demanded.
14. It is admitted that plaintiff so alleges. It is denied,
however, that plaintiff sustained any damage whatsoever, let alone
damage the monetary value of which exceeds $25,000.00.
WHEREFORE, defendants, demand judgment in their favor together
with the costs of defense of this action.
NEW MATTER
15. Plaintiff's claims are barred to the extent it is
determined that plaintiff has failed to mitigate her damages,
16. Plaintiff's claims are barred to the extent it is
established that the product and/or product container were abused,
or otherwJse misused by either plaintiff or a third party and that
such abuse/misuse resulted in the condition/defect about which
plaintiff complains,
17. Plaintiff/s claims are barred due to her failure to join
an indispensable party to this litigation, namely the retailer of
the product identified in plaintiff/s complaint as that being the
one Which injured her.
lB. If it is determined that a product manufactured by
defendant House of Tsang, Ltd. was involved in the incident about
which plaintiff complains (said allegation being specifically
denied) then the condition of such product and/or the product
container was changed and/or altered from the condition which they
were in when they left answering defendant's custody to the
condition they were in at the time of the incident complained of by
plaintiff. Answering defendants are not liable for the change in
such condition of the product and/or product container referred to
herein,
19. Plaintiff fails to state a cause of action upon which
relief may be granted.
20. Plaintiff/s claims are barred by the expiration of the
applicable statute of limitations.
WHEREFORE, defendants, demand judgment in their favor together
with the costs of defense of this action.
ZBURG
~ .." "-
.~ - ,.;
.. I ,!~
l~ .::t
~r.: ):~
:;r 0.. ,,:.j
,r.,;..
(', (X) " <il
r'
.6. C'J ",J ,;:/
fi:\jc ..... l"!{i)
r ::l I.t~~
.,.
L'. ,,-, ~:)
0 <J' U
VERIFICATION OF PLEADING
I verify that the statements made in the attached pleading are
true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are
made subject to the penalties of 16 Pa.C.S. Section 4904, relating
to unsworn falsification to authorities.
, , J
'j / ':'?H"J/f ,u( ,/. /9 Y?
'Date 'I
,
AFFIDAVIT OF SBRVICE
I hereby certify that I am this date serving a copy of the
attached Reply to New Matter onl
Gregory R. Hirtzel, Esq.
Bennett, Bricklin & Saltzburg
100 S. Queon St.
Third Floor
Lancaster, PA 17603-5368
Service by first-class mail.
'/b,v..,Jf:.,! I 2 / 1%
Date
/,
~1~\11 /J /~ 1./,,' "I zrt-
1'0 n Wesley igel ~'iI, Esq.
50 East High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 243-1965
0: I ~,:
i"; .
f. ~ .. \, ~
~J:' -',
".. J )
p,:' I .. };,'
S) ~ \ : ~i
Cl ("'I . .'
t I ~ I
i:l:\ : "
I !:. :,i!
"
..' If 0, J
u '"
(",
0'
RCijpcctfully ijublllllled.
._Q~ 2!{ I '11 ?-
DUlC
d.t':!.0",.,Q. LJq ",.'~/ac..
;,r;)11Il WCijlcy Wci1rcllll. 1~(IUlrc,
7 Irvlnc RllW
Curllijlc,l'A 17013
(717) 243., 'J85
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE,
Plaintiff
; IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
: OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY,
PENNSYLVANIA
n
~~;
~
o
"
-.
I
L)
vs.
CIVIL ACTION . LAW
96.3640 CIVIL TERM
. ..,'....
'.,
r"",, ~..
. ~, .
P".";',:
t:~'! I ";
HOUSE OF TSANG, L TO" and
HORMEL FOOD CORPORA nON,
Defendants
, ,.
...~ (1
.... -'
'* ':-.~
.'-
::t
MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY
AND NOW COMES Plaintill' Sandra Irene Wolfe, by her attorney, John
Wesley WeigellIl, to move the court pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil
Procedure, aileging IlS follows:
I. Plaintitf filed this action against Defendants on July I, 1996, claiming damages
suffered by swallowing a sliver of glllSs coming from a glllSs container produced by
Defendants.
2, Plaintiff served interrogatories and a request for production of documents upon
Defendants on July 2, 1997.
3. Among other things, the interrogatori.es and request for production of
documents called on Defendants to produce information and illustrations regarding any
equipment possibly used by Defendants in bottling sauce. Plaintiff believes that such
equipment may be related to the defect found in the container bought from Defendants.
4, Among other things, Plaintiffs interrogatories requested Defendants to
describe the types of comments or questions received on their toll.free telephone
complaint line, and to describe any statistical studies of comments or questions received
through the toll.free line.
5, Among other things, Plaintift's interrogatories requested Defendants to
describe any previous complaints received by Defendants similar to those of Plaintiffs
between January I, 1980.1 and July I, 1990.1,
.
.
!';XIlIIJIT A
0-'"'
(')
',\
,..
'.~~~~1
. 'I~
..~~
I.
\~.U
l5
~
;Q
..'
-,.
r:-
,-
N
...1
,.,1>
7, Dct~ndants refused 10 unswer the pertlnenllnlerrogulorles or 10 produce lhe
approprlatc documenls within the time ullowed by the court.
8, On Fcbruury 2. 1'1'18, I'luinllfl's counsel wrote I )cfendullls' counsel 10 request
lhat Dcfcndunts clllnply wilh the order, I'luinli 1'1' s ,0unsellhcnrecl!1 ved u telephone cull
from Delcndunts' counsel on FebruUl'y II. 1'I<Jll, In which Dclcndllllls' counsel promised
to provide thl! requested discovery muterluls,
9. Since February 11. 19'111, I'lainliffhus hud uo communiclltionlhllll Iklcndunts
regarding the requesled discowry,
10, Iklcudllnts's lullure 10 comply with the order of October 31. 1'I'J7 has put
them in contempt of court.
II, Since Pluintift's counsel has expcnded subsluntiul time und eflort to compel
discovery of lhc requested answers und documenls, uud to request sunclions. un uwurd of
$125,00 in uttllrney Ices against Dclcndunls would be u reusonuble sunclion lor
Det~ndants' tullure to comply Wllh the order Ill' October 31, 1997.
WHEREFORE. Pluintiff requests lhnt
a, the court find [)el~ndanls in contempt of court I<lr their failure to obey the
order of October 31. 1997:
b, award Plainliff $125,00 in counsell~es:
c, imposc such llthcr pcnalty as the court may lind upproprlate; and
d. rl!servc thc right to imposc udditional sunclilllls should the Defcndunts pcrsist
in their refusal to comply wilh the order ofOctobcr 31, 1997,
Respcctfully submitted,
;JJ.,-~lVL___
P'
P:A'_()~Jl>.j,;)_~.:~J.17(--
~;\VCSICY Weigcllll, b1'juire,
7 Irvine Row
Curl isle. P ^ 17013
(717) 243.1 '1115
VEIUF'CATlON OF l'I.EAIHNG
I verity lhut lhc ijlutelllCl1ls Illudc in the uttuchcd pleuding urc lruc und correct. I
UndCrijlUlld lhul lillsc slUtclllenlij hcrein urc Illudc SUbJCCllll lhc pcnullics of 18 Pu, C .S.
Scction 4lJ04, rclutinl! 10 unsworn lillsllicution to uuthllritleij,
diAl 2 J.T/L_
~'7
~ --
- ~ LJ_/lk~/1
J 11 Wesley ~ III, l!Squirc.
01
, I,
"
i
I,
10
1.:' ~
..
l-:
, ,
, ,
, , ~ I I
..
&.; .~ I
, , ,
,- ,.
., ,
, "-..., \
(!. ,~ U
'-.' ,
II '-
r ,... ro.
r!' IJ~ "
N '\~.
I Cl I~ . ;
r.i~. ...
_c. '1;1
u..
!! ~: r.f.) ~', '.;' j
I' )
,. N ,. ;.
>J,'"
\ I' t; '\")
I~ Jr-'f'L..
~, :3
I \5 00
I (I' t:.
I ;1
,I
"
I'
,
,"", 'l) '>-
l1:; f.:";
r~' (I; . !.
II J ~-I
t'''... ",-'
~=:: ( . :'
fJ:i' "'..
u;, ': 1
,).
~{ "I . .
1 I, I
-.1' , f' j 1(1
1.1:, " :
I; "0..
" rn ':1
u .;.)
DENNETT, IlRICKLlN & SAL'I'1.DURG
DVt Gregory S, IIIrlzel, ESlJulre
1.0. No. 56027
nVt Marlu n, /llllelelsell, 1':sllulre
I,D. No. 79717
100 SOUTII QUEEN STltEET, 31U> I'LOOR
J.ANCASTF:lt,I'A 17()f).1
(717) 39.1-4400
ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANTS
SANDRA IRENE WOLfE
vs.
: COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY
HOUSE Of TSANG, L TD, and
HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION
: CIVIL ACTION. L.AW
: DOCKET No, 96-3640
91U>ER
AND NOW, on thlij
duy of
, 1998, upon defendants opposition
to plalntifrs Mallon to compel, it iij ORDERED that plulntitTs Motion to Compel is denied by the
court,
BY THE COURT:
J.
-'
,
<: 'I
'\
i""-
,I
I)(H181T A
_,..,j,,,_,-<'_d.,~ "'
'.._'F...-.......~.,~.-, ..,.......,..r-.,.
-+1,... " . ,,~,,~,__,-'t<..._
,,'
I,
~
BENNETT, DRICKLIN , SALTZ BURG
BY/. Gregory S. Hirtzel, Esquire
1.0. No. 56027
100 SOUTH QUEEN STREET, 3RD FLOOR
LANCASTER, PA 17603
(717) 393-4400
ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANTS
Houae of Tsang, Ltd,
1I0rme 1 f'oods corp.
SANDRA IRENE WOLfE :
:
vs. I
:
HOUSE Of TSANG, LTD. and :
HORMEL FOODS CORPORAT1Qtl___________1
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
CIVIL ACTION - LAW
DOCKE'/' No, 96-3640
DEFENDA~ REPLY TO PLAINTIFF'S INTERROO~~. FIRST S~~
~neral ObiectJlqn:
Defendants object to the definitions and instructions to the
extent that said definitions and instl:uctions when applied to
plaintiffs' discovery requests would require the divulgence of
privileged information, information gathered in anticipation of
litigation or information reflecting trial strategy, legal
theories, mental impressions of defendants' attorney and/or the
value or merit of plaintiffs' claims, Without waiving suid
objections defendants respond as follows:
1. A determination dS to who defendant expects to call dB an
expert witness at the time of trial has not been mode.
This response will seasonably be supplemented once such
a determination is made.
2. See reply to #t above.
3. Objection. Defendants respectfully object to this
inquiry inasmuch as it is overly burdensome, unduly
broad, not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery
of admissible evidence based on the averments of
plaintiff's Complaint.
4. Giant foods, Carlisle, PA.
5 . Object ion. Defendants respectfUTIV object to this
inquiry inasmuch as it is overly burdensome, unduly
broad, not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery
of admissible evidence based on the averments of
plaintiff'S complaint, without waiving said objection,
the supplier of the product conta iners for cantonese
U-,t
~
~~ ~
~\U
.. , "
~l: ~
"
~ ~, .,
. ~~ j
, ~
, ..
, jj
, II:
,
.. I
~ 'll
... ........
of e-e- ~
, '" j
. ~ ~ ..
. ~ ,..~..--. ..
, " "" 0
, .. ....
. ~ ~
, :~Q.lH ~
, II: 'l5
, J
, ~ !
, ~ ~OlJlJ a
. I- .
.
, ,
, ].t ~
, ~
, II: IH 6 "
, j~~ 13 ~
, 'of :j
, 3 "
, il 'll ~
, ,
. '" e .. ~ ~~
. .. (j
, " ~ ~l
, > 3 ..
, ~ElJ" ," 0
, <> . ;:;l:l
J ]r .
u...,,...,... o OJ)
.'i.s~~ ~ "'0
~o " "
.. ~ ~ lS
0
>< I. of "
...... u '" ~ ~
...... ~
~ N" 6 " ..
000 " ~
~ ..NN ~
0....' m
..r-r-
oii "00
" 1&:'TJ'D't'
" ~~~
~ t~~"
'0 ~~o
" ~.. e"
u ".s u
" g c'5 ~ ..
.. 0
u~ " lJ
"~8 " " u
,!!" 0' .. > 0.
.. ~ ~ " " "
13 ~ " ~ " "
... ~ ~ ~
u ... " ;;: ..
.. n. 0.
~ ~
..
~
61 .. "
.. .. .. ..
~~ 5. 0
... ... ...
0: ~ 0. ~ ~
.. " g " ,"
E~ ~ ~ ~
~(!. " ~I' 0 ~ " ~
~ .. OJ) '" OJ) OJ)
"''' i':
'0'0 "'0 ~ " "
~~ 0.0 ~ ~.. ~.. ~H
~6. 1'0. ... '8 .. 'll
.. .. u 0
"'....... >< 0 ~ d: lJ" lJ.. lJ"
Q~~ ~ .. " .. ..
~~ m~ .... ..~ sa ,,~
" Eg ,~ .36 0.. se
'" ..
~ ... ~~ "'" c'5 !~ c'5 8
g 0 '" tlO "0
:I~ ~"
.0 IQU il;;:
a. ..
g 0 ~ ... '" !z !z
.. ~ '0>< U' .. ....
. H " ,,~ ." 0> .. .. 0"
u .. '. .;j 0 ".. ~~ OJ)j >j
.. II)....;-f-- '" ~.. ~~ ~~
.. "M " .0' r
~ 0"0! oo.. ur- ~
....0 ~,.. ~.. ~~
...... :C.. O:r- ..u
8 .. "" ~~iiii
_'tJcc ~ ~~ t:~ H!l, N!l, tJ4.ltJE t!l, ..... N!l, ".. "'!l, N!l, U U 4.t15
j : 41""'0 '"' UI-t,,", ). "'u~.... U). UUIot....
ui~'"' ~ ~::i 6::i ,,~ 13'" 0" ~~ ,,~ 6::i 13'.0" ~~ 6:1 ~:I 13'" 0"
C ''''''-' .0 0,", ~".a 0,", .I:~.a ~".a
41 lot.... n. ~ . 0. OJ) . . .. <lo",
"-I,DO\. '0 ooo ~ ~ ~ " .. .. ~ ~ ~ ~ .. ~ ~ ~ ~
"N, g~ ~ B B 0. " ~ 'll " <lo " " 13 " 0. ~ ~ "
~....... , '" .. > '" '" > '" '" >
~.... , " U '0 U '0
00, ... Ci " .. . " ~
......., ... . .. N M
0,...,., . a
'" ..,
_J>
u'~
. ~j ~
,
_ , "
~u ~
~ ,~~ e ~
..
. :1~ S
'"
. eo. J I
.... n
~
o. ..
~ .. i
. MM ...
" Ell 0
"
. ~
" :~QoQ. tl ~
"
. !~uu j ~ ~ I
0:
....
j~ ~
a .
I.... 5 "
i'~~ ," il ~ ~
3 "
.11I .il tl ,
'" ~ '.. 0 sl
.. ti
" m
>- ij ~
0:" ,~ 0
.2~ul( 0 '" . ;:;/:l
J ~r .
~4J"'''' Olll
oS.... " _.0
0< .. ~ '0
~ . ~ g-
o 0
tl "
::;:; ,. ~ ~
.
........... 0 .- .'
000 . ....
, ...." 0 t1.
t 0........ on
.,."
,,"00
#'O"O't'
II.,,,,
1-1......11I
lJlI~O
'.. G-
"~ ,.., ~
5" go
(, 0 .- u
.oJ"''' " '~ u
~"" ,~ 1Il >- .. "
, . 1Il Of; ~ ;: , " "
'" . ~ ~ ~ 0:
'iJ . .
.. .... ..
H 0- .. ..
31 ~
"
38 " .. ..
.. ~ .. ..
~~ 5~ -. .... ....
" . '" . .
.... ,~ g ,~ "
d .. .. ..
~~ ~~ ~ 0 ell ell
. 1Il ~
::lli G
'0'0 ~ " ..
$~ 0'<; . ,,- 0" r
".. .... '8 ... 8..
" ... u 0
u......... ~ 0 r. et u'
.s~"" . . ~" ...t1 "e
~~ 0(0 "'~ ..... "..
" ... g ~~ .?-.,.~ sa sa 3a
.. ....
~ .... 88 ,S8 8 ~; 8 8
0 '" =-:n
2 :a.. .,
," ""
.. ~u ~'" ....
!i 0 '" ~ ~
.. ~ '2~ u~ '" ...a
" .... ,"" 0>- .... .... 0....
w .. ." ~~ ~~ ~~ 1Il~ ~i
-- ..._~-- .......... ~1Il -
~ ~'" I tie a~
0"0 .. o:~
.....0 ...... ~r: ~t!
"'...... "'" ....u
e .... ;;~;;ii
."0 cc N i~ oJ. ..... ...~ ~ ~~.~ ~~ ....g'. "~ .~.E !j~ ....~ N~
. II'''' 0 u>. >. ... N..... ... "'....
1i "" c; tn... !l 00 0" 6:! il'~3~ ~:! ~:! ~:! ~'Ea~ ~~ ~~ ~:! ,3'....0...
C 1I'",w '01>: 01>: ~.., '.
0 "&"'" .. 0 . 1Il "Ill ""'.0
~~" ,., c Uj " " . . " .. . . . . " ..
,.. 8- ~ ~ .. " " ~ ~ .. 0 " 8 ~ .. " 0 8 ~
.w....... , ~ ~ '" '" '" '" " '"
~rn 'J' 1Il 0 0 " '0 'E
1;.-:'':: " " . . 0
-', I- " . .. ... ,~
~r' 'n "
U
, IJ
,
, e
,
. ~
... , "
, ~
.
, .....
~ , ~
, J
,
, '..
, i
. \I:
.
.
, ~ ~
, ... t
, ,~
, .. j
I ~ ~
, E
,
I
, ..
, ...~... ~
, \I: j
, l.2u I
,
, ft ~
,
, ...
, ,
, i&' ~
, III ~... :l
, B
, j~ ~
, ';1 ~
, :3
, ~ 'll
,
, ~ 6
,
, ~ ~
, ~ ~
, ~~l' '..
, j 0
, Mr .
, ""'"
, :t .s-: ~ "'0
, "0
, ", I ~ /l'
. {!
, 'll '.. "
, ::;:~ I< i ~
. .5
~ . N.................. .. ...
, 0000 ~ ...
I , "'NN~ &
, 0...........' III
, .,...,.........
, 0\000
Vl
" _'0'0'0
~ ~"~
t~~
G .;"'8.....
0 "lj U ..
... ~.~:l 0
IJ
""i! " .. U
~.. I~ ~ >- .. ...
~ ~ ~ .. , .. "
~ ~ 0 ~ ~ 0
"' ~ ~
lJ ... " ... .,
" ... ll. ll. n.
" ~
~
"
g!:'j .. ... .. ..
~~ ~~ 0
... ... ...
J~ :E ~ ll. ~ ~
... C ~ '" ..
~~ a ~ ~
~~ ~ " ~ J: J:
. Vl
'tl'tl "'" E
:g,g ~ .. "
~" ~ "... r "...
~~ I'll. ... ~" ~ ~.
... 0, IJ
AJ'ri..... .>t 0 1: ~
lj." ~ . 5 "e .
~3 ifi ~~ .... ,,~ ,,~
" E~ ,~ sa 0" sa .9a
.... ...
I ... OVl '!;o 8 !~ ~ ~
~~ '" 0:1< "0
~r-
'.. ,gu;
5 0 ~u ...
~ .... '" ~ ~
., ~ 'l!~ IJ, .. ...,
'.. ... 0 '..,.. 0>- ... ... 0'"
" ., ...., ~~ O~ o~ j >-j
"- ."........ "...- 0 ~~ ~~ ~~
~ ..... ~ ", '"
~ 0"0 ~.. IJ,.. 0
......Q..... ~... ~;: ~~
8 ch""'UlU :c.. ..U
.iic;: I '" ijf.jijs ii~iiii tl~ ...~ N~ ""~E
] , "~ ,,~ .... ...~ t!:!. ...~ ...~
fO IJ). " uU ~.... '" N'''' ",UN''''
U Inrl ." ~ ~:t 5:t 6~ ~C3" ~~ ~~ ~:t ~'C3" ~~ ~~ ~~ i!E~~
~.... .,
t;.. . .. ll.Vle ll.Vle
r..",,.,, gl ~ i ~ ~ .. ~ ~ ., .. ~ ~ ~
~'" . s o. " " ll. . a. "~t.l
-....... I. I>: IX .. I>: I>: >
~ON I " lJ 'tl U 'll
....... ...'.. i:i " 0: ~ "
...... , f- . .. ... ...
0,....... , "
x ..~. u
,I
"
-,
,
EXHIBIT C
"
, ,
..
, ,
,--.-
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE
: IN TilE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: ClJMl3ERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL V A"IIA
Plullllilr
v,
: CIVIL ACTION. LA W
1I0USE OF TSANG, LTD,und
IIORMEL FOODS CORPORATION
Dctimdunl
: NO, 96.3640
I'LAINTIH'S ANSWEI{S nm DEFENUANT'S ImOl1EST Hm AI)MISSIONS
RCQuCijt for Adllll~~ion III
It is udmilled Ihut plalntiffis wilhout knowledgc ofuny lucts to suggest tllUl the prllducl und/or
product contuincr allcgcd to have becn involved in thc abovc.refcrenccd mUllcr \Vas dumugcd or
llthcrwisc in a dungcrous and/or dclcctivc condition when illcli the posscssion, custody und control of
dclcndant.
ANSWlm:
Dcnicd, The cllndltion ofthc containcr and the prcscncc Ill' gluss shurds in thc saucc is clearly
suggcstive of the fllCt thm tbc prllduct did Icaw Dcfcndant's possession, cusllldy and ell 111m I in u
dangerous und/or dclcctiw condition,
'nlerl'OI!II10r:y III
Iftbc above rcsponsc is anything llthcr thun an un<jualiticd adlllissilln, plcusc idcntify cuch tilct
known to you wbicb supports your contcntilln tbut thc pruduct und/or product conluincr wus in un
unrcasonablc dungcrous and/or dcfcctive condition whcn it II'US Ieli thc posscssillll. custody and control
ofthc dcfcndant.
ANSWER:
I. A shard Ill' glass 11'tIS cOlllaincd within thc saucc,
2. Alicr bcing laccraling und discovering thc sourcc oftbc oncnding matcrial. Plaintiff
plllccd suid containcr in it's original SllllC in storagc, without rcmllving thc rcmuining products,
], An CXpcrt unalysis conduclcd by Rllbcrt Calluway and Ddlbic Crubtrcc indicalcs that the
bllttlc \Vus dUl11agcd,
4. Thc rcpllrt of Call amI} and Crabtrcc indiclltcs no 1110ld was prcscnt.
-- I.f) ~
11- <~
"
,',:' (.~ ~.~ otf"
1.1': ( ''''J
1 ~: J :J:
n... '.
" ' : ~:J
()' ,: f~i
(.. ~ ,,"'
N .I).
" .. ;~
en r ,.Ill,)
~'. /~(.).
~ .
....
I... ...-:""l ::-:i
<..'; ,=> (J
.......-.
>- L() '>"
9r C'I ~
,.;.~
\...; (~ J.(
L! .~,. l-)t.-,i
~ ~... ." .' )~.\:
r'.\
,\., "" :l~~1
, . )..
\ ,:1' :1s''J
I:." IN
\ ',:r,l
, . C', ;!ul
IJ_ ....~ ~.l ,I t.l-
I ~ a
~I c;)
0
. I "
MAY:! II iUIJQ)
f
IJENNETT, IlItlCKI.IN & SAI.TZIWltG 1.1.1' ATTOllN.:V FOR DEn:NDANTS
BYr !irlsrln I':, ,Iuquls. ESllulrc
I,ll, No, 7.1887
100 SOUTII QUEEN STIU:ET, ,11m FI.OOll
I.ANCASTEn,l'A 1760,1
(717) ,1'/.1-4400
-
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
\IS.
('lOUSE OF TSANG, LTD. und
J:l.QJ1MEL. FOODS CORPORATION
CIVIL ACTION. LA W
DOCKET No, 1)6-.1640
ORIlER
AND NOW thiij
duy of
, 2000, it is hcreby ORDERED and
DECREED thut dclcndul1ls' Motion for Summury Judgmcnt is GRANTED.
BY THE COURT:
KEVIN A, HESS, J.
DENNETT,IIIUCKI,IN & SAI.TZnUIUi 1.1.1'
nVI KrlNtl1l t:, ,'UIIUIN, t:N1ll1lr~
I,n, 1'111. 7.1887
100 SOUTII QlJI':EN STIU:KI',.lIu) .....O(lIt
I,ANCASn:lt,I'A I7CIO,l
(717) .111.1-441111
ATTOIt.Nn I'Olt nHENIMNTS
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE
COURT OF COMMON Pl.EAS
CUMIlERl.AND COUNTY
\IS.
CIVIl. ACTION -l.AW
IIOLJSE OF TSANG, l.TD, und
IfORME!. FOODS CORPORATION
DOCKET No, 'J6-.1()40
IlEFENDANTS 1I0LJSE 01' TSANG. I.TIl, ANIl 1I00tl\lEI. ...001)8
COlU'OltATION'S 1\10'1'101'1 nllt SUI\II\IAIn' HJl)GI\IENT
Delcndunts, Ilouse of Tsang, l.ld, and Ilol111c1 Foods Corporution, by and through thcir
ullorneys, Ilennell, Bricklin &. Salt/burg L1.P, hereby movc this lIonorahle Court I'Jr sunullury
judgment and in suppllrt thereof, aIel' as lollo\\'s:
I, PlaintilTcommcneetlthe instanl civil action lor personal injury by the filing oru Writ
ofSumll1ons with this Court on or abllUI July I. I <)'16, A copy llrplaillli Irs Writ is allachcd hereto
and nHlrked as Exhibit "A".
2, On or about July .10, 19'16, plaillli Irs civil action Complaintll'as filed wilh thc Court,
A copy or suid Complainl is allached herelll and marked as Exhibit "II",
.1. Plainlirfinstitutcd Ihis action to rccovcr I'll' injuries and damages allegedly sustained
while eating a meal prepared lor her in her home localed at C114 York Circle. Mcchanicsburg,
Cumberland Coullly, Pennsylvania, (See Exhibil "If', ~1~ll.ll),
,_ 4>
4, The COlllpluinl Ul'Crs Ihul in June Ill' 11)1)4. pluinlilrs nephew, Puul A, A, Wollc,
purehusell two jurij of <lclcn<lllllls' prolluct known as "('unlllneijC C1ussic Vegclublcij und Suul'e"
(hcrcinul1cr relcrrc<lto us "suuec") Ihllll KUl1ls Quulily Food, I.TO in Mechunicsburg, I'cnnsylvuniu,
(See Exhihit "B", ~I() ullllplairilin's responses 10 Inh:rrogulories, Set II, 1/2), Rdevulll pOl1ions of
Ilcfcn<lanls' Irllerrogatories Oireeled III P lainli 1'1: Sel II, un<l pluinti Irs aCCOllllHlnying responses arc
ulluehed herclo as Exhihil "C",
5, On or uhoul June 29,11)1)4, plainlilrs mOlher, Emilie Virginiu Wollc, prepured ullleul
of chicken wl<ll;ee, 10 which she a<ld,.llIIIl jlU'S of <lclendwllS' suuce, (S,,\: Exhihil "(''' 113, 3(u)-3(c)),
6, Pluinliffhus alleged Ihal al1ershe began ealing Ihe Illeal, she felt a smallunidentilicd
ohjcct in her Illoulh which hecame lemporarily eaughl in hel'lhroal an<l was suhsc'luenlly swallowed,
(See Exhihit "[l", ~i~18, I)),
7, The unidcmilied llhjecl was never recovcred an<llhcrefore, could nol he idenlilied,
(Scc Exhibit "U", ~II) and Exhibit "D", pp,3Cl, 3')), Relevanl porlions oflhc deposition of Sandra
Irene Wolfe arc unache<l herclo as Exhihit "0",
8, Suhs'Xjucm to lhis incident, plaimilr alleg..lly i<lemilk.! a "nick" at ~le lip of ~1C jar of
delcn<lwlls' pnxlUCI; however, she is unahle 10 eSlablish tllatlhis "nick" llr W1Y olhereondilionllfdcli:ndallL~'
product was rcspousible lor her injuries, (S,,\: Exhibit "U", ~IIO WId Exhihil "D",pp,21-22, 50-51,54).
9, Despitc admilledly having no evidence of whal the oncnding objecl was, or Ihat it
originated frolll defen<lants' jar, and not frum anolhcr source eOlllponent of Ihe meal, pluillliff
repeatedly refers 10 the offen<ling object as a piece of glass, (See Exhibit "B", ~IIO, Exhibit "D",
p,21-22 and Exhihit "COO, 1/3(a)),
10, The faCIS.as presented, clearly show thaI plainllff<loes nOI knlllv what type of object
becallle temporarily lodged in her throal. nllr could she knoll' the origin of said object, since the
object was ncvcr relrieved or i<lcntilied,
2
II, Phlinli 1'1' is unuhle III eSlilhlish thuluny purlllf dclcndunts' prllduct WUij the ellUSC llf
her inJurieij,
12, Phlilltin'is unuhle III estuhlish tlmt dclcndunts' prllduct wus ulll'eusollllhly dungerllUij
llr ddcellve llllhe time it Iel\ the munulilellll'Cl', I'luintin'canllnly speculute whcnund where u "Ilick"
ut the lip llf 11v: jur muy huve llccurred, (See Exhihit "1)", pp.50-51. 54), Further, evell if u
munulucturing dclcct clluld he estahlished, she is ullahle III pro\ e thut such a dclcct ,;uuscd her injuries,
13, On Dccclllhcr I, 1998, dclcndullls servcd on plaitlliffa RCljucst for Admissions, The
pluintiff was rcqucstcd to udmit lhut she was with<HI1 knowledgc of any facts thai dclcnJullts'
product or producl contuincrs werc damagcd llr delcclive whenthcy lel\ the cuslody and contrlll of
dclcndunls, Plainliff's rcsponsc is inlhc lill'lllOf a denial; howcvcr, shc is unahle to proviJc any
facts to supporllhis dcnial. III plainlifl's respllnsc, she statcs thatthcre were "glass shards" prcsent
inlhe sauce, aner previously admilling shc has nil cvidcnce of the prcscncc of glass in the sauce,
In un allcmptto providc supporting cvidcncc or documelltationllll hcr Unlllllllded claim, plaintifr
ciles a reporl preparcd hy dcfcndants, which clearly docs nllt in any way suggest thallhere wcre
"glass shards" in defcndanls' produclor thai dcfendants' product was damagcd or dctcclive when
illell the possession and control ofdclcndants, Instead,thc rcport Slates that the damagc 10 the jar
occurrcd no more than two to thrce wecks prillI' to its discovcry, bascd onthc lilcllhatno molo was
delcctcd, This rcport supports dclcndants' positioll thulthc damugc must have occurred allcr it lell
the custody und cOlltrol or dclcndants, Scc RcquCSI I'llI' Admissillns III, Copics of dclcnoanls'
Requcsl for Admissions allll plaintifl's I'CSpllnSes thcrclll arc colleclively alluchcd hereto as Exhibit
"E", Scc ulso containcr cvuluatilln rcport allached hcrcto us Exhihit "fo",
3
.~,
14. In rCijponsc 10 dclcl1liunls' I~c'lucst Illl' Adlnissionij, pluinlilfwus unuhlc III prllvidc
uny fuclij thut defcndunls' product lias in a dungcl'llus and/lll' deli:ctivc cllnditi<lll whcn it Iell Ihc
POijscssion, custody und conll'oloi'thc defcndunts, and illstcad, plai IIli ffcanllnly "suggcst" this must
be wbal happcllcd. dcspilc hcl' dcul' luck llf proof. (Scc Exhibit "E", III ),
15, In pluintiff's I'csponsc tll dcli:ndants' RCllUCSI Illl' Admissions. plaintilf Ilu1lu:r
admillcd Ihat ijhc hus no inllll'lllalionlhalthc conditillllllflhc product and/or product contuincl'ij did
not UJ'isc whilc inthc carc, custody and conll'oloflhc I'clai ieI', Pluinli ffhypolhcsizcs a thcol'Y on how
sbc "bclicvcs"lhc conlaincl's muy havc bccn dumugcd. hll\\'CI'CI'. she.: lucks a faclual basiij 10 support
this lhcol'Y, (Scc Exhibit "t''', 112),
16, At no limc did thc plainlilfpl'oducc documcnlationol' cvidcncc Ihul would indicatc
Ihc dcfcndants' product, und nlll somc olhcl' product ingcslcd thcl'e.:wilh, causcd he.:1' injurics,
17, Pluinliffl1lusl poin: to spccilk filcts thaI will show thai it was de.:fcndunts' producl,
und nOlunothcrcomponcnlllflhc mcal, thul cuuscd bcl' injul'ics,
18. Fuilurc 10 adduce sufficicnl cvide.:ncc on an issuc csse.:ntiulto pluinli f1's cusc,und on
which shc bcul's thc bUl'dcn ofprllol: cntitles thc moving purty to judgmcntus ull1allcl' of law,
19, Aftcl' thc I'e.:lcvanl plcadings UI'C c1oscd. but within such time us not to
unrcuson:lbly delay triul, uny pUl'ty may 1l10VC IlJr summul'Y judgmcnt in whole or in part as u
mattcroflaw, whcl'c thcl'c is no gcnuinc issuc ofuny matcrial fact as to a ncccssal'Y c1cmcnl of
thc causc of aClion 01' defcnsc which could bc cSlublishcd by additional discovcry or cxpcrt
rcport. Pa,R,C.P, 1 035,2( I),
20, In addition. any purty II1UY 1l111\'C for sumnHII'Y judgmcnl in whole or in part us a
ll1allcr of law if, aftcl' thc complctionof disCllVCI'Y l'e1cvant tothc motion, anudvcrsc parly who
will bcar the burdcn of proof at trial hus litiled 10 producc evidcnce.: oftilclS essential 10 lhc cuuse
of action or dcli:nsc which in a jury tl'iul would I'c'luirc thc issuc to be submillcd to a jury.
Pa,R.C.P, 1035,2(2),
4
-'
,
I.
'~
EXHIBIT A
#'~1",,'.'~~
~/!!,'i'1":."~;I-~"~Ift\tM"nl'!i"'f\!'-"'ln"''''''''fIfM';'-''IP'_'"' __,,_
"",~..J4"li
.
'-
-
n
I IIlXHI81T 8
,
"
'i
, '
SANDRA IRENE WOLFE,
Plaintiff
IN TilE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
l CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
l
l CIVIL ACTION - LAW
96-3640 CIVIL TERM
vs.
HOUSE OF TSANG, LTD., and
HORMEL FOOD CORPORATION,
Defendants
JURY TRIAL REQUESTED
NOTICE
YOU HAVE BBBN SUED IN COURT. If you wish to defend against
the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action
Within twenty (20) days after this Complaint and Notice are served,
by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and
filing in writing with the court your dofenses or objections to the
claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to
do so, the case may proceed without you and jUdgement may be
entered against you by the court without further notice for any
money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim or relief
requested by the Plaintiffs. You may lose money or property or
other rights important to you.
YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYBR AT ONCB. IP YOU DO
NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONB, GO TO OR TELBPHONE TilE
OFFICE SBT FORTH BBLOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP.
Court Administrator
4th Floor, Cumberland County Courthouse
Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013
(717) 240-6200
,$/1 LJJ'~ U ~II
Jpfln Wasley Wei el I , EsquJ.re
50 East Iligh Street.
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 243-1965
c ,,~ "
, l,', ..
"'l:J .- ~ ~'.:: : I
U., I':: .1?1
?. '
~ to) ;~
(I. ; CJ
...~ .
r;. '". '. ,
~~ :r? "U
1...,-
-.:~ .. '~h
[, ( ~'J .'irn
)>~ ....
, :." ).
'", :'1
-'. '0 -...
" .
Foods, and contained a toll froe teLephonu Ilumber connecting callaru
to Defendant Hormel Foods.
8. On June 29, 1994, another relativo of Plaintiff heated and
served sauce from tho Cantonese classic jar to Plaintiff. When
Plaintiff took her flrst swallow of Cantonose Classic sauce, an
inedible object hidden in the sauce lodged in her throat.
9. Immediately after Plaintiff had tried and failed to remove
the object from hor throat, blood began flowing out of both sides
of her mouth as the object lacerated her throat. Plaintiff proceeded
to the bathroom and attempted to spit up the object, but could only
spit up blood instead. While Plaintiff was still in the bathroom,
the object left her throat and went into her stomach.
10. Inspection of the jar revealed a thin nick about three-
quarters of an inch long on the inside rim of the jar. Plaintiff
therefore believes and avers that the missing sliver of glass from
the jar had fallen into the sauce and was in fact the object she
swallowed.
11. Plaintiff sought medical treatment for her wounds the next
day and incurred medical bills in the amount of approximately
$600.00.
12. For approximately two months after her injury, Plaintiff
suffered substantial discomfort in her throat every time she
swallowed.
13. Plaintiff does not know whether or not the glass sliver
ever left her digestive tract. From time to time, she does suffer
occasional pains in her abdomen that may indicate the continued
presence of the glass sliver, Plaintiff therefore remains exposed
.-
"
:..
EXHIBIT C
'j
i'~ ,],',;--,
",.h.,,,,",,, '""'II ~-'''''''''''''I'H'_~I_",.._""j '_""~ ~,~.,_'" ,.~. .
.,
"
,.
-.....
1,-.,
, ,
,
Ii
'.,
10
/1
1 question, au oppoued to Barno uLher source?
;/
A
Whatever I. whatever I swallowed CiH1\C' out
3 of those jars.
4
5
o
A
Why do you say that?
Well, that's lllmply my opinion. r mean,
6 that's all that r have on my plate.
7 0 What do you base your opinion on?
6 A The fact that I had swallowed something and
9 it scratched my throat.
o
Anything else other than that that you base
11 your opinion on?
12 A No. Basically the fact that there was a
13 sliver out of the jar and I had swallowed something. That'u
14 why I saved it all. I thought they would want to see the
15 whole thing and see where it came from.
16 0 But my question to you is originally why did
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
you go back to the jar as opposed to check the other sources?
A What other source could there have been?
0 What else were you eating with the meal?
A Rice.
0 Anything else?
A No.
Q How do you know that you swallowed glass?
A The fact that I had blood allover me.
0 Is there any other fact that you I re awa re of
GEIGER Ii LORIA R(PORTlNG SERVICE 2"00 PARI( OR SUITE B. HOG PA 171lQ 117!UH!108 OR '800212 "')77
1
2
3
4
5
6
.,
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1'1
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
I))
Q
^
o
^
What facts
Facts I don't know.
You don't know of any facts?
I simply would not know the (acts because
I've never been to 1I0rmel's plant.
o Let me ask you -- al\d you make a good point.
Let me ask you this t You're not aware of any facts
indicating that whatever damage there is to this product
container marked as Exhibit 1 occurred at one place as
opposed to another? You just simply don't know where it
happened, correct?
A
Q
No, that's right,
And you are not aware of any witnesses who
would have knowledge as to where the damage that we have to
this product container might have happened?
A I know that it didn't hapPfln in my home.
Q
A
Why ctn you say that?
Because I'm the person who unpacked it and
put it in the closet and nobody touched it until the day that
it was opened.
Q
And it's my understanding that you've never
seen any chips of glass that you would relate -- that could
be related to this incident; is that right, either in the
product container or the product itself?
A No.
'-- G[IGrR a lORIA REPORTtNG 5[RVtC[ l"OB PARK OR SUIt[ U URCi PA 11110 117 ~"1160e. OR 1000 n2 "')11--.-
........
,
EXHIBIT I
.
'. '""-' 'i'Il/,'I/.,L'
.
"
I,
-
,
"II-f"'~-iJll{V/'.~'-t'I,,\it~"ij~IH"I'i,') .I"j"
::t"'J.>..tn("t -; ,-,.. ,'. ., . ,.- '''. ',' ,,'
EXHIIIT ,.
.,,1
.,,,d.. ~.
"
CC (j) UJ1f \\'-'
'1" . ~ a <,",
I":NNE'IT, IIIU('KI.IN & SALTZIIUIH; 1.1.1) ATTOI{N.:V .'Ol{ o.:n:NOANTS
IIV: Krl~llll E. .IIIIJIII.~. ENIJllh'c
1.0. Nil. 73HH7
100 SOLl'!'1I QUI':EN S'I'IU:E'I'. .mo FLOOI{
LAN('ASTlm.I'A 17(,03
(717) .193.-1-100
-
SANIl/{A IRI'NE WOLFE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
vs.
HOUSE OF TSANG, LTD, 1I1l<l
HaRMEl. FOODS CORPORATION
CIVIL ACTION. LA W
DOCKET No. 96-3640
OIU>lm
AND NOW Ihis
<lilY of
, 2000, it is hcrcby ORDERED und
DECREED Ihlll dcfcn<lllnls' MOlion lor SlIllllllllry Judglllcnt is GRANTED.
BY THE COURT:
KEVIN A. HESS, J.
I'IIM:C J I'~: FUll \, 1 liT I N(; CAHE 1"011 AlllilIMEN'I'
(Mul.lt bl! I YIll!Wrlll"ll ,lIll1 llubnilh>d III dupllclIto.!)
TO TilE l'ROTIIONO'I'A/IY OF {'UMUEHl.ANIl COllNTY:
l'll!lwC! lint tbl! within IlklU..r for the nWlt t\rgu1l1!/lt court.
--------------------.-------------------..-------------*--------------------------------
CAP'l'lON OF CASE
(entire ClIption must be "tilled in fuLl)
Sundru Ircnc Wolli:
( Plaintiff)
VB.
Housc ofTsung, Ltd. und
Honncl Foods Corporution
t Defendant)
~). 3640
Civil
%
19
1. State matter to be arqued (i.e., plaintiff's nPtioo I'or new trial, defendant's
dBllJITeI' to canplaint / etc.):
Defcndunts' Brlcl'ln Support ol'Thcir Motion I'llI' SUll1mury Judgll1cnt
2. Identify counsel wtllJ will arque calie:
(a) for plaintiff: Karl E. Rominger, Esquire
J\ddress: ROMINGER LAW OFFICES
155 South Hanover Slrcct
Carlisle,"A 17013
(b) for defendant:
Address:
Kristin E. Jaquis, Esquirc
HENNEH, BRICKLlN & SAL TZBURG LLP
100 South Quccn Strect, 3rd Floor
Luncastcr, I' A 17603
in writing within two days that this case has
3.
I will notify all parties
been listed for argurent.
4. Argunent Court J);jte:
July 26, 2000
~ C~.~
. . () ~{;___ ~ tu.{
M ornc..'Y for ocr nd' Is
Dated: May 30, 2000
..... ,.... ~
1.1; ~
i' I'
P: eO)
I" '(tj
, ..... L ~:
;J:: ,~1
, I
'" . .;(-i
I 'I'~;
'.:_i "lie
'-, ~I
" (7)
, I';':J
.,... .... ... ff
,..- e'". \--
"
i' .. ('5 .~
,. " t.~ , )..)
'. :'r; ):~
". .,")......
. ~':"
, [') .' ti/~
I ,\\~
' .
".j
" ':-.) B
" , ~j
.
.
SANDRA IRENE WOl.FE
IN TilE COURT OF COMMON I'I.EAS OF
. CUMUEIU,ANU COUNTY, IIENNSYLVANIA
CIVIl. ACTION ,I.AW
v.
1I0USE 01' TSANej, l.TI> and
II0RMEl.I'OODS (,ORI'Ol~ATION
I)()(,KIT Nu %-)11,10
'1'1": PI.^,N'IWI' SANlmA II~ENE WOl.FE IU:QlIESTS I>t:n:NllANTS'
MOTION Hm SllMMM!Y JlII>GEMt:NT UE IH:Nn:l)
Plaintill: Sandra Irene Wolfe, by und through her ullorney Kurl Romin!!er, hereby request
this Honorable Court to deny defcndunts' motionflJr summulY jud!!el11ent alld in support thereot:
aver as follows
I. Admitted
2. Admitted.
3. Admitted
4. Admitted.
5. Admitted.
6. Denied, upon intormation and belief the plaintill' can, establish the small object in
lhe plaintill"s throat clln be proven to be a shard of glass and therefore remains an
issue of material fact
7. Admitted, in so tar as the alleged glass is not recovered and is not available tor
purposes of identifYing the alleged glass as such
8 Denied, upon information and belief the pluintilrcan establish the "nick" to be the
source ofplaintitl"s injuries IInd thereteJre remains an issue of material tact.
9. Denied, upon inlelrll1ation amI bcliefthc plaintill' can establish that the oncnding
object can be proven to be a shurd of glass and therefore remains an issue of
j. .6~
material tilct
10. Denied, uponlnlormatlllfl and belief the ploinllll'con eijtabllKh Ihat plolnllll'
oKijerh the otlimdlng object WOij gloKij evcn without the recovcry of the ollcnding
object and theretilre remllins an I~sue of material tilcl
II. Denied, upon InformotilHl and helici"lhe plalntlll' can estahlish Ihallhe defcndants'
producl was the cause oflhe plailllitrs injuries and Iherdilre remuins an issue of
muteriullilcl
1:1. Denied, upon inlimllationand hcliefthe plaintill' can estahlish Ihatthe delcctof
Ihe delcndunts' producl was the cause of the plaintitrs injuries and Ihereli)re
remains an issue of material tilCt
13. Denied, upon inlonnationand hclieflhe plaintill'can establish the delendanls'
glass contuiner wus "nicked" while in the custody and co III rol of the defcndants,
or thai the defcndunts had rea~onahle reason to believc the container would be
"nicked" und IherefiJre rel1lains an issue of materiallilcl.
14. Denied, upon informationllnd hcliefthe plaintill'can establish that the defcndants'
producl was dangerous and/or defective and therefore remains an issue of material
fact.
15 Denied, upon information and belief the plaimifl' can establish that the delcct
arose before the care, custody and control oflhe retailer and therelore remains an
issue of material fact
16. Denied, upon information and belief the plaimill'can establish documented
evidence that would indicate the delcndants product caused the plailllill's injuries
and therefore remains an issue of material fact.
...~l I
17. Denied, in as fill' as Ihe plaintltr clln eslllblish lhlltthe detimdanl6' slIuce IInd not
another comp\Jt1enl oflhe melll cllused plnintilrs injuries, IInd thereli.lre remains
an issue of mllterillllllct
18. Denied, therc arc issues ofmalerillllllclltllll do nOI /~Illille lhe moving pllrly to II
judgemenlus a muller oflllW
19. Denied, thel'\l are issues ofmllleriultilclthlll do not cmitlc the moving pllrty to a
judgemenllls u mllllcr of law.
20. Denied, Ihere arc issues ofmulerillllllctlhut do nol entillc Ihe moving party to a
judgement as a mUlier oflllw
21. Denied, conclusion oflaw.
22 Denied, conclusion oflaw.
23. Denied, conclusion of law.
Nt:W MATTER
In addition to paragraphs I through 23, the courl should consider In this matter.
24. The delimdants wcre released by the plaintill'from II Motion to Compel discovery
based on an assurancc lhalthe defendants would providc who is responsiblc lor
bOllling the "House of TSllng Vegctable and Sauce. Cantoncsc Stylc", and
illustrations of the cquipment uscd in bottling lhc above referenced product are
available (Exhibit A)
25. The dcfendllnts did nolllnd has not provided the plaintill'with thc asserted
inlormlltion.
26. The assertcd inli.lrmlllion is ncccssllry lInd relevant to cstablish thc dcfcndants'
eJ:l.lV.ll~ed 1.i~lof InlefTOIJ.U\.\.!riJ:!i
Plea~e provide uli~tofull in line in~pection ~ystem~ u~ed in Ihe hOllling oflhe lIou~e of
r~unll ~lIuce~ including check wdgher~, mellll delectors, closed pllckaged inspection
devise~, M Ie S devises, hllndling systems lind/or X-my systems
2 Plellse provide Ihe nllmes, mukes, models IInd mllnulilCIUJW of IIny conveyors, cordUle
mllchlnery, mllteriul hllndling equipment, hlllloti/ers, pellellrllnslcr systems, IInd
wrllppers u~ed in the production of the Ilouse ofTsllng slluce~ including yellr, mnke nnd
model numher nnd nlllllulilcturer
.1. Illellse provide Ihe line speed ulili/ed inmllnulilcluring Ilou~e of TSllIIg in meters per
minute
4. Plellse indicnte whelher or nOlllouse of Tsnng' suuces is n hotlill productnllll plense
specily Ihe esacllempemlure nl which il is Iilled inlolhe contniners ntlhe time relevunt
10 nn IIclion broughlunder this suit
S. Please indicale whether or nOlllouse ofTsnng's producl in queslion wns or ninny time
prior or subsequentlothe incident in queslion Pllcknged inn petnliod based boll Ie and if
the answer has changed over lillie, plense provide nlime line Illr when the product has
been Pllckaged inn pelaliod bnsed bOllle
6. Please provide Ihe person or person's responsihle including Iheir names, nddresses nnd
social security numbers and cUfTenttelephone numbers if available who are responsible
lor Ihe operation. maintennnce, c1enning, oversight or handling ofnny of the cnpers used
in the manufaclure and processing of Ihe I louse of Tsang sauce in question
7. Please provide the person or person's re~ponsible including Iheir names, nddresses nnd
social security numbers and current telephone numbers if avnilable who arc responsible
lor the operlltion, maintenance, c1enning. oversight or handling of any of the filler~ used
in the manulacture and processing or the 1I0use of Tsnng snuce in queslion
8. Please provide Ihe person or person's respon~ihle including Iheir names, addresses and
social security numbers and current telephone numbers ii' available who arc responsible
for Ihe operation, mainlenance, cleaning, oversighl or handling of any of Ihe rinsers used
in the manufacture and processing oCthe 1I0use of Tsang suuce in question.
\
r
,
,
"
.
,
I
,..., 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
C' f") 13
'....'it
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
U 25
WITNESS
.EQB DEl'ENDANTS
Sandra Irene Wolfe
j;:XHIBIT
NO, 1 - Jar
2
TABLE OF CONTliliH
DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT
3 64 68
PRODUCED AND MARKED
19
(Exhibit No.1 retained by Mr, Weigel,)
~ 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
~ 13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
V 25
3
STIPULATION
It is hereby stipulated by and between
counsel for the respective parties that rGading, signing,
sealing, certification and filing ar.e waived, and that all
objections except as to the (orm of the question are reserved
to the time of the trial,
SANDRA IRENE WOLFB, called as a witness,
being sworn, testified as follQwst
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR, HIRTZBLI
Q Good morning, Miss Wolfe,
A Good morning.
Q My name is Greg Hir.tzel and I represent
Hormel Foods in this lawsuit that you have filed, Today is
what's known as your deposition, What this is going to be is
a series of questions that relate to your background
information, the incident that's alleged in your complaint
and the injuries that you relate to that incident, Okay?
A Yes,
o In answering my questions, please be certain
that you give verbal r.esponses, as opposed to gestureB or
uh-huh or unh-unh, because the court reporter is taking
I)
1
2
3
4
5
6
'7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
( .;,)
-..)
4
everything down and what she needs are responses that can be
spelled, Okay?
A Yes.
o Please allow me to finish my question before
you begin your answer because that will allow for the court
reporter to take a clearer transcript to make her job
easier. Okay?
A All right, certainly,
o Please -- and if I just gave you this
instruction, I apologize, Please make sure that you let me
finish my question before you begin your answer. Only one of
us should be speaking at a time, Please do not answer a
question that you have not heard, Okay?
A Um-hum,
o And do not answer a question that you do not
understand, Okay?
A Certainly,
o If you answer my question, I'm going to
assume that you've heard the question, you've understood the
question and that your answer is truthful and accurate to the
best of your abilities. Fair enough?
A Correct,
o Don't guess in response to any of my
questions. If you don't know the answer, just simply say I
don't remember or I don't know. Okay?
,')
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
()
7
Steelton-Highspire High School,
o What year?
A 1960, ! attended the UnivarfJity Centflr in
Harrisburg and I'm a graduate of the Allied Corporation's two
year executive training course,
o I'm sorry/ the what corporation?
A Allied Corporation,
o When did you attend University Center, from
when to when?
A I only have six credits, 1963,
o And from when to when did you attend the
course sponsored by Allied?
A Let me think a moment, That would be '66
through '68,
15 Q Any training beyond what you've mentioned or
16 any secondary education?
17 A No formal education, no,
18 Q Are you employed presently?
19 A No / !' m not,
20 Q Were you employed at the time of this
21 incident?
--J
22
23
24
25
No,
When was the last time you were employed?
1983,
Why haven't you been employed since 1983'?
A
Q
A
Q
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1.9
20
21
22
23
24
\,..J 25
9
A No,
o Have you brought any prior claims for
personal injury?
A I don't think I understand your
Q Let me rephrase the question,
A Yes,
o Other than this lawsuit, have you brought any
other lawauits ever alleging that you were inj urad and
seeking monetary damages as a result of your injuries?
A Yes,
o Can you tell me how many times you've done
that, brought lawsuits,
A I brought a lawsuit concerning my seizure
disorder over my automobile accident,
Q Were complaints actually filed on your behalf
with respect to both those matters, you know, civil action
complaints?
A
o
Yes, um-hum,
When was the lawsuit for your seizure
disorder filed?
A That was one complaint, not both, That was
one, That was -- I have epilepsy as a result of an
automobile accident,
Q When was that complaint filed?
A I don't really know the date. It was 1986, I
11
1
2
3
4
5
A
seizure,
I was arrested because I had an epileptic
o
A
o
When did you sue the Mechanicsburg Police?
Probably 1986, 1 dropped the case,
Have you ever taken medication to control
6 your seizures?
7
8
9
A
Q
A
Yes,
When was the last time you took medication?
Oh, I can't tell you the exact day. It was
10 1990 or 1991,
11 Q Why don't you take medication any longer to
12 control your seizures?
13 A Because I was allergic or overly sensitive to
14 each of the medications that I took and they did not -- they
15 made my seizures wo~se,
16 0 Did you sustain a closed head injury in the
17 auto accident of 1985?
18 A Yes,
19 0 What other injuries did you sustain other
20 than a closed head injury from that accident?
21 A A slight neck injury, nothing bad. r had two
22 broken vertebrae, Nothing terribly serious,
23 0 Were you admitted to any hospital for your
24 injuries?
,~
25
A
Yes,
'-,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
)
,....j
12
o Where were you admitted?
A I was in Holy Spirit Hospital, Carlisle
Hospital, Hershey Hospital, Community General Hospital.
o As an inpatient in each of those facilities?
A I was an inpatient at the Harrisburg
Hospital, I was an inpatient at Cummunity General Hospital.
o Did you receive any psychological or
psychiatric treatment for injuries that were related to the
1985 accident?
A
I did not receive treatment, although I was
evaluated,
Q
A
recall ,
By who?
By the insurance company, I really don't
o
A
o
Independent examination?
trm-hum, yes,
But you didn't claim any emotional distress
or --
A No,
Q -- traumatic disorder from the accident?
A No,
Q What date did the incident that you brought
suit for against Hormel occur on?
A Oh gee/ I actually couldn't tell you the
exact date. June -- it's gone on for so long. I believe it
.........,
~
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
14
1
2
3
4
A I believe four times,
Q Did you record either the dates of any of
those conversations or actually the substance of what was
talked about?
5
A No,
0 Can you tell me what was talked about with as
much let me restate that question,
A Okay.
0 With as much specificity as you can recall,
can you relate for me what was said by you and by the person
from Hormel the first time that you spoke with them.
A Absolutely, I called the 800 number that's
on the jar and a woman answered, I didn't get her name, She
was very/ very nice. She -- I explained to her that --
exactly what had happened, I had swallowed a piece of glass
and that I'd saved the contents and my clothing and the Jar.
I actually had two jars. I said that I had the contents
because I felt they might want to look at them to see if
there waG any additional glass.
And I actually was calling them because r
felt that they might have had a whole run of things that were
defective and that they might want to recall or they might
have had other people complain. She said that no one else
had complained about it, but she did take my information and
she said she didn't want the contents of the jar, she didn't
-....
I,...
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
6
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
--.)
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
15
want -- she didn't want to SHe my clothing with the blood on
it, She uaid, have you been -- are you going to a doctor?
And I said yes,
Q Had you been to a doctor already?
A I don I t recall, I don't recall if lt was
before or after, She said she would send me a carton to
return the jar in, They wanted to see the jar. And I said I
would send it back to them, Do you want me to go on to the
next
Q Can you recall anything else about that first
conversation other than what you've mentioned already?
A She said, don't worry about any of your
expenses, we'll take care of them, I said thank you and that
was the end of the conversation,
Q There's nothing elee you can remember about
the first conversation other than what you've mentioned?
A No,
o Tell me with as much detail as you can recall
what was said by you and what was said by the person who
represented they were from Hormel at the time of your second
conversation,
A My second conversation regarded a
questionnaire that they sent me and I called them up to ask a
question about it, I really don't recall the exact substance
of the conversation, The person answered my question and
-""
16
1 that was it,
2 Q Did you fill the questionnaire out?
3 A I started to fill it out and then I put it in
4 my drawer or put it away, This is what happened,
5 Q Did you ever fill it out and return it to
6 Hormel?
)
'1".",
7
8
9
10
11
1.2
13
1.4
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
;15
.....)
A No, I didn't,
Q Do you still have the questionnaire?
A No,
Q Dld you give it to your attorney?
A No.
Q You discarded it?
A No,
Q You lost it?
A I lost it, and the box also,
Q Do you remember how much time passed between
the time of your first conversation and the time of your
second conversation?
A I really don't.
o Tell me with as much detail as you can recall
is there anything else you can remember about the second
conversation other than what you've told me?
A No.
o Tell me with as much detail as you can recall
what was said by you and what was said by the person who
\
III
1
excuse me, r'm wrong, Let me digress here a moment.
2
In the last - - in my third conversation, the
3 woman sent me -- did send me something. She sent me a little
4 bag for the piece of glass, rather than the box for the jar,
5 That's what happened.
6
o
Did you send the glass to Hormel?
.,
I don't have the glass because the glass is
A
8 st i 11 in my body. That's what. I called the fourth time to
9 tell them, well / I can't send you this piece of. glass because
10 I don't have the piece of glass, All that I have is the jar
11 that shows where the piece of glass came from,
12
. )
, .,.'
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Q
Do you remember anything else about the
fourth conversation?
A
Yes, the woman said we shouldn't be dealing
with you directly, we should be dealing with your attorney,
Q Did you have an attorney at that point?
A No, that's why I got John, As a matter of
fact, I said to the woman at that timet I don't have an
attorney, I'll deal with you directly, But the conversation
then came to an end and I did call John Weigel.
o
Is there anything else you can remember other
22 than what you've mentioned about that fourth conversation?
23
24
~
25
A
No,
MR, HIRTZELt John, do you have the product
container?
10
11
12
.
)
,.
13
19
1
(Handing, )
2
MR, WEIGELt I guess we should maybe get thIs
3 marked Plaintiff's Exhibit 1,
4 (Jar produced and marked as Plaint iff's
5 Exhibit No, 1.)
6 BY MR, HIRTZELt
7
Ms, Wolfe, if you r.ould take a look at this
Q
8
and tell me if you recogni ze what that is.
A Yes, this is one of - - one of the jars that
we opened, This is the jar the piece of glass came from.
Q How do you know that?
A You can tell by the ding up in here,
9
Q
And you're indicating that there's a
like
14 a chip missing from the lip of the top of the product
15 container?
16
A
The chip is -- was only from the inside,
17 It's chipping away here, too, but the chip was only from the
18 inside, along here.
19
Q
When you say it was only from the inside, I
20 don't understand what you mean,
21
A
Okay. There was no chip on the outside like
22 this, It was only from the inside, It was 1 ike smooth. I
23 had to look to see it myself the fIrst time,
24
I
~
25
Q
Where is the chip on the outside now that
you'r.e --
...)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-J
20
A Here, just along here. It wasn't like that,
0 When did the change in the chip occur?
A I don't know, I have no idea, See, it was
only like under - - under in here, like slivers,
Q You're indicating on the inside rim of the
top of the jar?
A
Yes, that's correct,
Q When did you first notice any chip on the
inside rim of the top of the jar?
A That evening I went back and looked at the
jars, They were both laying on the table.
Q Who was the first to discover any
irregularity in either product container?
A
I was,
o Why did you / in your words / go back and look
at the jar later in the evening?
A After I swallowed the glass, I walked around
just walked around the room and took everybody else's
plate away from them, I couldn't talk. I was just - - but I
knew there had been something in it, And I -- I had thrown
up several times, I had blood on my shirt and I -- I knew
something was wrong and I just carried the product back into
the kitchen and laid it down, And I went -- I just looked at
the jars, I thought there's something wrong with this,
Q Why did you focus on the jars, is my
-~.,
.)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
--..,)
;n
question, as opposed to some other source?
A Whatever I -- whatever I awallowedcams out
of those jars.
o Why do you say that?
A Well, that's simply my opinion. I meant I --
that I s all that I have on my plate.
Q What do you base your opinion on?
A The tact that I had swallowed something and
it scratched my throat.
o Anything else other than that that you base
your opinion on?
A No, Basically the fact that there was a
sl i ver out of the jar and I had swallowed something, That's
why I saved it all, I thought they would want to see the
whole thing and see where it came from,
o But my question to you is originally why did
you go back to the jar as opposed to check the other sources?
A What other source could there have been?
o What else were you eating with the meal?
A Rice,
Q Anything else?
A No.
o How do you. know that you swallowed glass?
A The fact that I had blood allover me,
o Is there any other fact that you're aware of
)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
~
~2
that leadB you to conclude you swallowed glass?
A No,
o You mentioned that you believe a piece of
glass is still in you, is that correct?
A Yes, that'B correct,
Q Why do you believe that?
A It's never passed through my body as far as I
know,
Q Is there any other reason why you believe a
piece of glass iB still in you other than you've never seen
any glass pass through your body?
A No,
Q Have you considered that perhaps no glasB
passed through your body because you didn't swallow any?
A No,
Q Why not?
A Because I would say that a reasonable person
would conclude that if they have that much blood coming out
of their mouth and there's a piece of glass miasing from the
jar, that that was the Bource of that piece of glass,
o Do you know when the product was purchased?
And when I say the product, I mean what was contained inside
Plaintiff's Exhibit 1,
A
o
Several weeks before it was eaten.
Was it purchased at the same time as the
,...)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
n
other jar?
A
o
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
o
purchased it?
A
Q
product?
A He told me he did,
Q Had you ever had this prod~ct before?
A No,
Q Where was the product kept in your house
after it was brought home by Paul?
A It was kept in the kitchen in a kitchen
cupboard where I keep other canned goods and glass goods,
o Do you know what else Paul would have
purchased in addition to this product beyond the two jarB of
They were purchased together, yes,
Where were they purchased?
I'm not sure, My nephew purchased them.
What's your nephew's name?
Paul Wolfe,
How long has he been living at your home?
Since 1992,
How old is he?
Paul is 21,
Do you know if anyone was with him when he
No,
How do you know that Paul purchased the
sauce?
'\
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
)
\ ,,,..,
.....)
24
A No,
Q You don't know?
A Exactly, no.
Q Generally do you Imow if he brought more than
one grocery b~g home?
A I really don't know, I don't recall.
Q Who would have paid for the purchase of this
product, if you know?
A Well, it would have come out of our family
grocery budget,
Q Who would have been responsible for loading
whatever bags of groceries that would have accompanied this
product when it was bought by Paul into the car?
A I would suppose Paul.
o You don't know specifically?
A I wasn't with Paul when he bought this, no.
Q Do you know who would have been responsible
for unloading the car when he brought the groceries home?
A Paul carried the bag in,
o Were you present at the timet do you
remember?
A As a matter of fact, yes/ I was,
o Why' do you say that?
A Because he said there's a new product that
looked good, let's try it. I wanted to try it so I bought
,,~ ..
4
!5
6
7
8
9
10
11
n
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-..-J
26
1
I had never seen it before so - - I meant I
A
2 it looked like what -- you know, what it was, It had been
3 advertised on TV,
Q Did you see anything that to your mind looked
like it didn't belong there?
A No.
Q Were both jars of the product consumed at the
same time or opened at the same time to your knowledge?
A Yes, they were,
o And this would have been the date of the
incident identified in your complaint?
A That's correct,
Q Who would have been responsible for the
preparation of that meal?
A My mother prepared it,
o What's your mother's name?
A Emily Wolfe,
Q How old is Emily?
A Eighty-one,
Q Have you had any discussion at all since the
incident with your mother about her observations of thi.s
product when she prepared it?
A When you say observations
o Did you talk with her ~bout, mom, did you
take a look at this product when you prepared it?
1
:2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
:23
24
.....1 :25
27
A Yes,
Q And what did she tell you?
A She thought - -
Q Let me rephrase the quest ion, That's not
fair, Can you tell met with as much detail as you can
remember / what was said by you and by your mother wi th
respect to her observations and her preparation of this
product on the day in question,
A Yes, I was in the living room -- I normally
cook dinner myself / but she she was fixing it because it
was just a heat and serve type di3h, She called Paul out to
the kitchen to open the jar for her because she couldn't --
she couldn't twist it herself and she called him, He went in
and he opened it, She said, this looks good, I said, we 11.
I'm not really too hungry, She said, well, how about eating
some? I said, all right. So someone carr.ied a dish out to
me and I - - we were all in the living room, We don't
normally eat in the li.ving room, but we did.
Q Who all was in the living room?
A My mother and Paul and myself,
Q My last question to you was could you tell me
with as much detail as you can remember your conversation
with your mother about her observations of the product
container or -- either product container when she prepared
this meal.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
J
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
30
o How do you know that?
A She told me,
o Did she tell you if she did anything else in
trying to open the product?
A Yes, I did ask and I asked if anyone/ you
know, struck it or hit it or anything like that and they
didn't,
o Who did you ask?
A I asked mother if she did,
Q Did you ask anyone else?
A Paul said .- he volunteered that he had just
twisted them off,
o Did Paul tell you anything else about the
opening of the product container?
A No.
o Did he tell you if he heard the vacuum pack
the vacuum seal pop when he opened the product container?
A No, but then I didn't ask him,
Q Did you have chicken with this meal?
A Yes,
Q
A
Q
A
Q
What els~ did you have?
Rice,
What else?
That's it,
Were both product containers emptied into
, -....,
,
32
1
felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, I -- I kilH;
2 of went like this. I put my fingers in my throat trying --
3 because I could feel that there was something in there and I
4 -- whatever it was, I couldn't get a hold of. And I was
5 really so scared becaufle nobody could see t.hat I was having a
6 problel1\,
7 So I was sitting beside the telephone and I
8 reached for it because I -- I just -- I couldn't seem to mako
9 a sound. I was going to dial 911, And I dropped the phone
10 and that's when my mother looked over at me and she just
11 said, oh my God. And I -- r realized I had blood coming out
)
12 of my mouth and I -- I was just kind of making sounds because
13
I couldn't talk,
14 And so I had gotten blood on the arm of the
15 davenport and my nephew rushed over to me and I -- like I
16 just kept swallowing, It's like a -- you can't stop, You
17
18
19
20
21
know, you can't stop swallowing, And then I felt 1 ike I was
going to throw up and I had kind of a pain in my chest, And
I ran into the bathroom and everybody kept saying what
happflned, what happened, And I just Baid, I swallowed
something, There was sOl1\ething sharp in - - you know, in what
22 I was eating,
23 And my mother was sitting there eating it and
24 I kept throwing up and there was blood, So I walked
\..,)
25
that's when I walked back into the living room and I didn't
)
t...t'
1
2
3
'I
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-.....J
- .
:33
even say anything, because she was just sitting there with a
-- you know, with like a spoon in her mouth or a fork in her
mouth and I just took it out of her -- r took the dish and I
- - Paul's dish was laying there, I just took everything and
scraped it back into the pan, I said, don't eat that,
there's something wrong with it,
And I threw up a couple of times and Paul
said, do you want me to run you over to the hospital? And I
said -- you know, and I just kept having little episodes
where I'd have a little bit of blood, And I said, well,
whatever it is, I swallowed, let me dial the doctor, and I --
you know, I - - I was very upset, You know, I just - - I felt
very/ very upset and there was -- there was blood on the
carpet and there was blood in the bathroom, I just -- I kept
every 15 minutes or so running into the bathroom and I'd feel
like I had to throw up,
But I called Dr, Harhigh's office and there
was a message on and it had another doctor's number to call.
So I -- I didn't want to go to the emergency room because if
you go in there you wait and wait and wait and wait and they
make such a big deal out of everything, You know, no matter
what, then there's a big deal, I didn't have insurance and I
-- I meant I'm on Medicare, you know, which would have paid
for part of it / but I thought I'm going to wai t and talk to
Dr. Harhigh.
)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
\~
34
So I called the number of the other doctor,
and r really don't recall who it is, And the person that
answered the phone, it was a nurse, said, well, whatever you
swallowed is already in your system, if you're -- if it's not
really bleeding anymore, just wait until tomorrow and call
Dr, Harhigh, So that's what I did and I went into his
office,
o Do you know if either Paul or your mother
consumed any of the product?
A They -- mother had a couple bites of it, yes,
o Did she notice anything unusual about the
product?
She thought it was delicious,
Did she notice anything unusual about the
A
Q
product?
A ~,
o Did Paul eat any of the product?
A r have no idea,
o Did he tell you that he noticed anything
unusual about the product?
A No,
o Let me paraphrase, and if I'm getting
anything wrong/ tell me, You are the first one to eat any
part of this meal, you eat it in the living room, Are you
using a fork or a spoon?
-",
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
)
.,f
._1
25
36
throat, I CQuld feel something,
o When you chewed, did you feel anything or was
it when you swallowed that you first felt an irregularity?
A No, I -- I had it in my mouth ~nd I chewed it
and started I don't -- I should chew food more than I do
probably, but I -- I felt a clink, like clink, I thought
that it was 1 ike a - - a Chinese chestnut or something l1ke
that because I felt something solid, but I thought it was a
chestnut or a sliver of chestnut, And it was only when I
swallowed and I started to feel it going down that r realized
that it was something more than that,
Q Did it go down -- the object that you're
referring to go down in one complete piece or was there more
than one piece of
A I really don't know,
Q When you chewed it, did you -- so let me
paraphrase again. You put the food into your mouth, you chew
it, you feel a clink and you think at this point when you
feel that clink that it's a water chestnut or some --
A Um-hum.
o Some component of this meal that you're
eating, right?
A Right,
o And then you swallow. And when you swallow,
you feel it go down your throat, What do you feel?
)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-i
37
1 A It's really very, very hard to explain, It
2 felt sharp, It felt like it was cutting into me,
3 0 Is that the first time that you feel pain
4 then is when you swallow?
5
A
Yes, that's CQrrect,
Q So when you chewed it, you didn't have pain;
but when you swallowed it, you did?
A That's right,
Q After you swallow this fork full of your
meal, do you immediately realize there's something wrong or
does it take some time?
A I knew there was something wrong when there
was blood,
Q How much time after you swallowed this fork
full of food until the time that you saw blood?
A Fifteen seconds, 10 seconds, very quickly.
Q How much blood? You made references in your
narrative to blood, Was this a small amount of blood, was it
gushing out of your mouth?
A It was not gushing out,
Q Like a bloody nose out of your mouth?
A No, it was a little better than that, a
little more than that,
o It was more than a bloody nose?
A Yes.
38
1 Q Can you describe the blood that was coming
2 out of your mouth? How was it coming out?
3 A It ran down both sides, like out of both
4 sides of my mouth, It dripped on -- I had on a white T-shirt
5 and it like just dripped it was like big drops allover
6 it, And then on the arm of the sofa and you know, as I
7 walked -- as I walked out of the room/ I was like kind of
6 holding onto my mouth and there was like little drops of
9 blood gOlng into the bathroom. It was -- it was macabre,
10 truthfully. I was -- I was in -- I was shocked, just
11 shocked,
,
."
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
'-J
o Once you noticed that you're bleeding, you
pick up the phone?
A Yes,
o
A
Q
But at this point you couldn't talk?
I couldn't say a word, no,
Had anyone noticed at this point that you
were bleeding?
A Nobody noticed it, no.
o Until after you picked up the phone?
A I picked -- I dropped -- right, I dropped the
phone, My hands -- my hand was shaking, I really was so
shocked that it was happening, It was like something out of
a horror movie, that was my feeling. Oh my goodness, you
know, what's going on here. And I dropped the phone and
-',
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
)
....)
\'J
that's when my 11101\1 looked ov''ll: and uhl! Willi )11111: III IIh'}l'k,
Her eyes got big and she so1id, oh illY Ood, Whilt'fl. Wh,JI'lf
going on,
Q Aftel' you droppnd thn ph')llf' ,'lI'Id YUill' 11101111 11""11
you bleeding, then YOll takn YOllrU(ll!: into tllH lJiiLhrol)l1Ii'
A I ran into the bathrOI)I1I, )'i'lht,
Q What did you do in I:lw bathrool1l"
A I started to throw up, r nHwh.!d dowlI /Ind
tried to get whatever it wan. Whilt(?VQI' II. w.w I I:h<lll,/IJI
can reach because I could fnel it ill illY throlll:, lJllt Lhllll II.
went on down,
Q
Por how long COli Id YOll foo I WII,ltOVOI: j I. Willi
in your throat?
^ I would say n 1.1: 'a no Iwrd 1.0 1J',y, ) "ollld
feel whatever it was going down OW!)' tlm IIl'XI., YOII kllow. , I'W
minutes,
Q Did you gargle or do .lIlyl h 111'1 ,II' 1:11,)1 lIillllt'l""
A No,
Q Did you brush YOlIl: trwth"
A I brushed my teel.h.
Q When did YOll bnlllh yrJlIt: 1"..1.11"
A Oh, I would 11IIY IH'Olbabl.y ,I 1I1l1!' i.in h0111' 1011'.1')'
because I - - I threw lip nUl1Iel:O\!1I L j 11101'1, cu\!ldn 't ....,11 yO\!
how many times, I kept ']o1.n(j b,lC'k III 1:11(.' hiJl.hrool11,
Q
Why wero YIJII tlll')WIII'I 111'. d,} y'HI know, and
......\
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
"'"
.....,)
'Il.
o - - on your tonguc!'/
A No, As I said, my throot loolvlti t'od, but
actual cuts I didn't see,
Q Where was the blood cOllliWl (t.o",/ J.f you know?
A Well, I _.. r thollqht it WIHI cOllling from my
throat,
Why did YOll th Ink thal:'/
I was - - thnt W.l/1 juut my roel ing because my
Q
A
throat hurt,
Q But you didn't II",., IIIIY cllLlI?
A No, AB a mottol' or I:/'Ict, flvorybody in the
family looked in my throat, 'J'h.,y .,11 i'l/1id it looked very/
very red.
Q They lookod III your r.hroot lIfter you came out
of the bathroom?
A
Yes,
Q And whilo yol! wore in the bathroom, you were
sticking your finger. dowlI y<)lll' tlll:oat to try to get whatever
you felt was lodged there~
A No, [ pili lilY f 111<)01' down my throat when it
first happened, YOll kllow, to try to -- I put two fingers,
But whatever wan t.IWI'C',
cou ldn' t. reach,
o So then yml come OUt of the bathroom -- did
Paul go into tlw boll:hroom wit.h you? Did anyone accompany you
in the bathroom'/
-12
,-,\
1
A
My mother walked in after a minute or so. I
2
don't recall
I really don't recall if Paul came in or
3 not, My niece was there at that point, too.
4
Q
When you came out of the bathroom, were you
5 still bleeding?
6
A
A little bit, ! meant I didn't have blood
7 dripping or anything like that. I took tissue and, you know
8 -- I kept spitting into it and then I would have a little
9 bit of blood, I wasn't dripping blood, I wasn't gushing
10 blood, There would just be a little bit,
11 Q Could you talk at this point when you came
12 out of the bathroom?
)
"
13
A
Yes, I could,
14
Q
Whp.n you come out of the bathroom then, you
15 take everyone else's meals?
16
A
Out of their hands,
17
Q
And what do you do with them?
18
A
I took it out to the kitchen -- just took it
19 out to the ki tchen and scraped it into the pan,
20
Q
Which pan?
21
A
The entire pan that had the rest of it in,
22 rice and everything, I just said, don't anybody eat this,
23 there's something wrong with it,
24
o
To your knowledge was the rice and the
I '
J
25
chicken and the sauce all prepared in separate pans?
~.
'""",
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
.)
~9
~
20
21
22
23
24
25
43
A Yes, they were,
Q And which pan did YOll put people's dishes in,
the contents of people's dishes into?
A Certainly, I put it all back into the sauce,
Q Did you or anybody else check the other
dishes to see if there was any foreign objects or articles
A Yes,
o -- on their plates?
A Yes, we did.
o Who checked?
A I checked through everything, I didn't see
anything else, but I thought there might be little pieces of
glass in it,
Q Did anyone else check other than yourself?
A I really don't know.
o Did you see anyone else check?
A No,
Q So you put the contents of the plates back
into the pan, Where did you check when you checked?
A I looked at the sauce, first of all, to see
if I could see anyt.hing ill it, I looked at the plates. Then
I just put it all in together -- nOt I didn't, No, I
didn't, I put the -- I put people's plates in one dish and r
put the others in another dish,
o
I'm sorry, I'm confused,
.--
\
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
...)
v
44
A All right, I did not, I put the sauce that
was in the pan, I took it, I put it in a bowl. I stuck it in
the refrigerator, I took everybody's plates and scraped them
together and put it in another pan -- or in another dish, I
put that in the refrigerator,
Q Why did you do that?
A Because I wanted -- after I looked at the jar
and I saw the glass, I thought maybe the people would want to
take a look at it to see if they -- you know, what was wrong
with that,
Q When did you look at the jar in relation to
your activities after this incident?
A It would have been that evening, early
evening,
Q
A
Where was the jar -- where were the jars?
The two jars were sitting on the kitchen
table.
Q
A
They hadn't been thrown in the garbage yet?
No, No, we -- we recycle and they would be
recycled products,
Q Were both jars empty?
A Both jars were empty, just as you see this
jar,
Q Did you look at the jars before or after you
took everybody else's plates?
,I
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-J
,Pi
1
1\
I looked at -- I looked at the jars
2 afterward,
o Are you sure?
A Yes,
Q And I chink you indicated this, but I'm not
sure, When you looked in the saucepan that contained the
sauce and you looked in the pan that contained everyone's
meals, you didn't find any other objects or --
A No,
Q - - nothing irregular?
A No / I didn 't.
o Did you see when you looked at either the
meals or the jars any mold or anything of that nature?
A No,
Q
At no point you saw mold anywhere; is that
correct?
A
No,
Q For how many minutes after the initial
incident did you notice that you were bleeding or did you
continue to bleed?
A Oh golly, really off and on, off and on for
the next hour or so I would just have a little bit of blood.
At first there was blood coming out of my mouth and I -- you
know, it was very, very noticeable,
Q Did you retain any of the articles that were
)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.....)
46
soiled by your blood?
A No, No, r asked--
Q Did you photograph any of them?
A No, I asked them if they wanted to see them
and they said no,
Q What did you do with them after that?
A I threw them away,
Q And when you say you asked them, do you mean
you asked Hormel?
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
Yes, um-hum,
Did they tell you to throw them away?
They said they didn't need to see them,
Did they tell you to throw them away?
No,
After that first hour, did the bleeding then
stop?
A Yes,
Q Would it be fair to say that you didn't bleed
again after that?
A No, I didn't,
Q Other than the bleeding, what other feelings
have you had physically that you ascribe to this incident,
that you relate to this incident?
A My throat hurt,
o For how long did your throat hurt?
"\
'J
\., .
u
1
2
]
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
47
A ! would say I had a sore - - a really nasty
sore throat for a number of weeks,
Q Lese than a month?
A It's hard to say, Probably,
Q How many times did you go see Dr, Harhigh for
this condition?
A I went to see Dr, Harhigh the next day, I
talked to him about it several times since.
Q
You never consulted him for that reason
again, though?
A
Yes, I did,
More than what you've Been Dr, Harhigh --
More than once,
Q
A
Q Let me finish my question, please, You've
seen Dr, Harhigh on more than one occasion for reasons that
you relate to this incident?
A Yes,
Q How many times have you seen Dr, Harhigh for
reasons that you relate to this incident?
A At least three times,
Q When was th~ second visit in relation to the
incident, how many weeks or months afterwards?
A Gee, I really don't recall,
Q How about the third visit?
A The third visit I had a pain in my side and I
)
1
;2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
......;
l)Q
A
Q
once a month?
A A little more often than that.
Q Do you have any idea what's causing it?
A No / I don't.
Q Do you have any idea when the product
container that we have marked as Plaintiff's Exhibit 1 was
Frequently,
Would you say that it comes about at least
chipped?
A No.
Q Has anyone told you that they had an ldea as
to when specifically the product container that's been marked
as Plaintiff's Exhibit 1 was chipped?
A No.
Q So you don't know if it was chipped in the
car on the way home from the grocery store; is that correct?
A I would not think it was. If it had been
chipped then, I would think Paul would know.
Q You do not know if it was chipped when it was
in the supermarket; is that correct?
A I would assume that it happened in the
production of it.
Q Why would you say that?
A Well, you're asking me for an opinion, I'm
giving you an opinion.
"''',
"
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
)
.,'
,~
lj 1
Q What facts - -
A Facts I don't know,
Q You don't know of any facts?
A I simply would not know the facts because
I've never been to Hormel's plant,
Q Let me ask you -- and you make a good point.
Let me ask you this I You're not aware of any facts
indicating that whatever damage there is to this product
container marked as Exhibit 1 occurred at one place as
opposed to another? You just simply don't know where it
happened, correct?
A No, that's right.
Q And you are not aware of any witnesses who
would have knowledge as to where the damage that we have to
this product container might have happened?
A I know that it didn't happen in my home.
Q Why do you say that?
A Because I'm the person who unpacked it and
put it in the closet and nobody touched it until the day that
it was opened.
Q And it's my understanding that you've never
seen any chips of glass that you would relate -- that could
be related to this incident; is that right, either in the
product container or the product itself?
A No.
--1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
.)
'-...J
;<5
,~",
52
o
passed?
A
On any of the pates or that you might have
No.
o Did you check your stools to see if you
passed any glass after this incident?
A Yes, I did.
o For how long did you check?
A For six weeks.
Q Who told you to check for six weeks?
A My doctor told me to keep checking.
o When did he tell you to check?
A He told me the first day when I went in.
o What type of treatment did you receive from
Dr. Harhigh on that first day, which would be, as I
understand it, the day after the incident?
A Yes. Dr. Harhigh looked at my throat and
sent me for what he referred to as a throat swallow, where I
swallowed barium and had x-rays. He wanted to make sure it
wasn't caught in my esophagus.
o Other than that, what other treatment did he
provide for you?
A
None.
o What instructions did Dr. Harhigh provide to
you on that first visit?
A All right, Dr. Harhigh told me to watch for
.""\
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
'"
)
-'
25
55
of the incident ask you to go to the hospital?
A My nephew said, let's go to the emergency
room, yes,
o And the reason you didn't is because it takes
a very long time --
A No, I called Dr. Harhigh's number and there
was a reference to another doctor's of f ice. I did call them.
And I said, should I go to the emergency room, should I come
in there? The nurse said, well, if it's already in your
system, there's really no need to, Go to see Dr. Harhigh
tomorrow and see what he recommends. In other Hords, if
there's something - - if there was something caught in my
throat at that point, I think that they would have, you know,
said go ahead on in, but there wasn't.
o We talked about lawsuits, prior lawsuits that
you've been involved in -- or other lawsuits, I should say.
The only two civil lawsuits that you were involved in was the
one for your 1985 car accident and the one with the police
department, right?
A That's correct.
o What other claims have you brought for bodily
injury that didn't mature into a lawsuit?
A I never did,
Q
physician?
For how long has Dr. Harhigh been your family
...."
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
v
59
improperl y metabol i zed by my body.
a Which medications did you have an allergic
reaction to?
A A medication called Oepakote.
Q And what was the reaction you had to that?
A As I recall, it was hives,
a Anything else?
A No.
a Did your throat close on you when you had
your allergic reaction to that medication?
A No.
a Have you ever consulted a physician with
complaints that you felt as though your throat was closing on
you/ it was sore, it was swelling?
A No.
Q Other than sore throats that would accompany
the typical flu or virus, you have never had any
irregularities in terms of sensations or feelings in your
throat or bleeding with your throat?
A No, definitely not.
a Have you ever had strep throat before?
A I never had strep throat.
a How were you feeling around the time of this
incident, generally?
A I had had a touch of what I would call the
"
o
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
61
don't know. I really don't recall.
a Did you pay those bills personally or were
they submitted to -_
A They were, I believe, submitted to Medicare,
a Do you know if Medicare paid the bills?
A No / I don 't.
MR. HIRTZELI John, have you been put on
notice of any lien or anything like that from any carrier?
MR. WEIGEL~ No.
THE WITNESS I I'm more worried about future
bills than anything else.
BY MR. HIRTZEL~
a Why is that?
A I'm extremely concerned that this piece of
glass will sometime cause me a great deal of problems. I'm
an extraordinarily healthy person other than the seizures.
a Have you talked to Dr. Harhigh about the
possibility of that happening and whether or not those __
there's even a chance of it?
A He told me he doesn't know.
Q He never told you that it was only -- there's
a chance, but certainly not anything that would be a medical
certainty that this could happen?
A No, he didn't say there was a medical
certainty one way or the other. I did ask for x-rays. I
.J
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
o
9
10
11
12
1.3
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.......;
63
Horrnel and they wanted it in their container and I - - I mean,
I thought that was only fair to send it to them in their
container, but I misplaced it. I was more concerned that
they might have -- you know, that it might be a processing
problem and it would be in a lot of their jars, you know, and
somebody else would get hurt.
o What happened to the lid to t.he container?
A I threw it out, but I - - I looked at both
I looked at the lids. Both of the lids were laying there and
the jars were laying there. I looked at the lids. They
weren't bent up, they weren't -- my mom didn't try to like
hit it with a knife or anything like that, It just wasn't
it wasn't dented.
Q
Where were th~ lids again when you looked at
them?
A
Q
They were laying on the table.
Did you have to retrieve them from the
garbage?
A No, no/ they were - - I threw them out because
I thought, well, they don't want the lid.
o Hormel said they didn't want the lid?
A Urn-hum. All they wanted to see was the jar.
I thought they'd be interested in seeing the product in case
there was more -- you know, more of anything in it, but they
weren't. You have to remember, I didn't intend to sue them.
1 1
2
3
4
5
6
'7
8
9
10
11
12
I"t 13
"'~In"
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
. 25
60
REDIREC'l' EXAMINATION
BY MR. HIRTZEL ~
Q
Did you/ Miss Wolfe, ever consult an oral
surgeon or a dentist after this incident?
A
No.
Q
Did you think of consulting a dentist or an
oral surgeon for any issues that you relate to this incident?
A
No.
Q
How come?
A
I had not broken a tooth, pierced a gum,
anything like that.
MR. HIRTZELI That's all I have.
MR. WEIGEL~ No further follow-up.
(The deposition was concluded at 11~00 a.m.)