More on the Ridley lawsuit

[Willowcreek]

"By the government's own admission, one or more of those 80 cattle are the most likely source of BSE in Canada," Mr. Pallett said. "Where was the monitoring? Where was the government's concern for the health of Canadians? Why did the government fail so badly in the exercise of its regulatory responsibilities?"

Farmers_son--Sounds like this Canadian ranchers group and their attorney are admitting BSE is a health concern and a health risk -- Looks like they are joining the R-CALF argument and Judge Cebulls ruling of a genuine risk....

[farmers_son]

cpallett: Thought that name sounded familiar. Would that be Cameron Pallett, one of the lawyers involved in this suit? If so, a question I have is if a farmer gets involved in this suit could they somehow get hit with costs later on if the suit was unsuccessful?

I am not unsympathetic to the action you have filed. At least in hindsight more could have been done. I am not sure that I would want to held to that same standard myself however, i.e. in hindsight I should have been more observant or careful on a particular issue but I guess that is why I buy insurance.

I would appreciate any comments you would care to make.

[farmers_son]

Willowcreek: I would be curious to know the dispostion of the cattle imported into the U.S. from Britain during the same years that Canada imported cattle from Britain. Did those cows end up in the food chain or were they removed and disposed of. I have never seen any mention of what happened to the U.S. cows of British origin, very hush hush.

[rkaiser]

It seems that this one is feeding right in to Oltimers hands. Proof Proof Proof.

Never seen such a hypocrite in my whole life.

This lawsuit is another act of frustration on the part of producers going down hard.

Rehashing blame will get us nowhere. Unless you want to talk about the continued agression of the Rcalf gang of idiots.

I support a suit against the slanderous words of Rcalf, but hesitate in bringing up past that cannot, and will not be repaired in Canada.

We need producer owned, or at the very least Canadian owned packing plants, and we need to have access to testing for export demand. If the boxed beef that Cargil and Tyson are profitting profusely on is threatened, we also need testing to try to access American markets.

You think you got a good one here, don't you Oltimer. Well I say you are an idiot, if you think for a minute that the USA has no BSE,,, and you must believe we are all iodiots if you think we believe you want the border to stay shut to protect American producers, and get this BSE thing under control.

The authorities that be don't have a clue how to recognise, monitor, or even deal with BSE, and closed borders only lenghten the timeframe for any forward direction in that regard. Getting on the same page could move us ahead, using BSE as an economic weapon will not. Blame and finger pointing only secure a lengthy battle.

I say the same for this suit for 7 billion. It will not accomplish a thing.

We have offered the solutions on this thread, and at meetings across this country. Bridge financing to build plants paid back by producers through a levy.

No more handouts, no more blame.

Who the hell is listening.

[cpallett]

farmers_son - No, the costs exposure is limited to the representative plaintiffs and perhaps their counsel at this stage. Cattle producers can sit on their tails and wait for a cheque, they have that legitimate option. Or they can choose to get involved and help out, they have that option as well. Or, apparently they can choose to rant without bothering to seek information. Lots of choices.

[SASH]

I'm a little concerned how the public at large and our consumers are going to lokk at us going after their tax money. I think the sympathy of the general public is on our side right now but this could change things. the other thing I don't like about this confrontational approach is that any future payments or plans the government may have had for the cattle producers could be shelved by this suit. If the boxed beef to the US gets cut off, we won't even have government support to find other markets. If this happens, you guys who are supporting this have truly screwed us. I guess, at least the lawyers will be making money, but I can't see how this is going to help the cattle producers.

[cpallett]

SASH, you really should do your homework. Have you visited www.bseclassaction.ca and read the claim? My information is that the Feds are putting together another relief package, but they are going to ask producers to sign a waiver and release from the class action before they will issue the cheque. That should tell you something if and when it arrives. If you bothered to visit the website, you would also find out that all the lawyers are working on a contingency basis. In other words, if you don't get paid, we don't get paid. My ass is hanging out there in the wind with the cattle producers on this one simply because it makes my blood boil that families are getting hurt. Canada's hardworking cattle producers shouldn't have to lose their farms to cover up for bureaucrats who failed to do their jobs. Besides, Don Quixote has always been a hero of mine. No offence, but there is no excuse for ignorance on this one. All the information is on the website.

[SASH]

Perhaps you should read up a bit on the theories of Mark Purdy. Also, where did the original case of BSE come from? It is thought that one in a million animals will develop BSE spontaneously. I don't think your case holds water and my concern is that the general public will turn against the cattle producers if this case is pursued. I saw your man on Canada AM this morning. I, personally don't think dredging up BSE on National Television is going to help consumer confidence. Unlike alot of the others on this board, I'm a corporate dropout. I've worked with quite a few lawyers before so please don't feel hurt if I don't believe you are doing this 'out of the goodness of your heart'. I expect more likely that you are hoping for some good exposure for you and your firm. A little bit of time in the limelight never hurts to build that clientele. I've long since got past the point of 'good or evil' in the corporate world and now understand 'It's just business'.
I guess what I'm looking at is if you manage to get all government aid cut off and the border closes to boxed beef, what do you have to lose? What is your stake in the outcome of this decision? This could turn out very badly for the rest of us.

[rkaiser]

How long have we waited for this moment folks.

A Lawyer, right here on our site, telling us what to do.

Well Mr. Pallett, I went and read most of your web site. Didn't have to go far before I wondered how this thing is going to work. You plan on presenting facts about BSE where facts do not exist. BSE has never been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be spread through feed transmission.

The one thing that your suit may bring out, is a govenment taking a second look at this infectious theory. Mark Purdey is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to research surrounding alternative theories, and in particular metal contamination.

I am not overly well versed on the topic but will enlist a very learned couple who are, to help explain the problems you will encounter before you even get this thing started. Stay tuned to Agriville folks, including you Mr. Pallett.

I appreciate your will to try to help the industry, but please consider some of the points made in your opening suit. BSE is not CAUSED by eating contaminated MBM. It is THOUGHT to be spread this way. And don't forget that there are no facts, just theories.

[farmers_son]

rkaiser: I noted your comment concerning the ongoing need for packing plants and the need for financing. I will just throw out the wild and crazy idea that this class action lawsuit offers a potential source of funding for such a plant.

Could it be that there is a possibility of the federal government settling this action out of court in return for funding such a plant or indeed several plants that would be then owned by a wide cross section of beef producers, or at least those beef producers who participated in the class action suit. Although the lawyers who are working on contingency would receive a disgraceful amount of money, no doubt at least part of the reason for their interest, maybe this is the answer cattle producers have been looking for. It is possible that this action offers a way out for the federal government to offer support to cattle producers without the restrictions of NAFTA.

Just an idea. I will go back on my medication now.

[rkaiser]

Good idea farmer_son, if we want to drag this BSE debate in front of the public once again. What the hell, you might say it's in their face every day anyway.

How bout it Mr. Pallett? Ready to do some dealing for the real solution to this problem?

[mb_rancher]

cpallet,

What kind of aid pkg are you talking about? Is this the small welfare cheque that they announced a few weeks ago? Or is this another soup kitch coupon hand out?

[cpallett]

I think I'll need some of farmers_son's medication if I'm expected to listen to any more of this whining. If you want to crawl into a hole and curl up, that's your option. I'm working for the farm families that aren't about to give up on their lifestyle and are willing to fight for what is owed them. As for the science, try studying microbiology, virolodgy and immunology for seven years before you spout absurd theories. Next you'll be telling me about the conspiracy to cover up the cure for cancer. Try a medline search for starters. I could recommend a couple of hundred papers for you to read, but if you can't even get through a forty page statement of claim what's the point?

mb_rancher - I've heard that it will be the most generous package to date - which doesn't really mean much, of course.

I've had enough, gents. You'll have to sit around and complain without me; I've got work to do. Lots and lots of work to do. Don't worry, though, if the whole thing offends then you don't have to cash the cheque at the end of the day when we win.

[rkaiser]

That was a treat.

Call us whiners you hero. Some of us have spent countless hours trying to change this situation, and have lost money all the way along.

Tell us what you have lost, or what you intend to sacrifice.

Nothing.

Suck in a bunch of desperate souls with your hipe, and run down those with some common sense.

You are a looser Mr. Pallett. Your case is doomed, and you know darn well it is. But your pockets will be lined at the end of the day.

Get a life, and start chasing car bumpers like a real lawyer.

Your education obviously impresses some, but your lack of knowledge and childish debate discusts me.

Give me a call some time if you want to do some real work, or if you want to sue me for calling you a looser.

Randy Kaiser
(403) 946 - 0228

[cpallett]

Well Randy, let's see now. So far I've spent over a thousand hours working on this and several thousand dollars of my own money. That's six months of work and some serious change. How much have I made so far? Diddley squat.

The real problem is that you may well be right. This lawsuit may have no chance. When it comes to suing the Federal government, anything can happen. The courts tend to find ways to let them off the hook on a regular basis. As for Ridley, this is what they call a pure economic loss claim which has its own set of problems. This particular type of claim has never been done here. Oh well, there's always a first time for everything.

So the bottom line for me is that I may spend years and thousands of hours working my tail off on this lawsuit and end up with nothing at the end of the day except massive debt and an enormous headache.

What am I risking? Not much, merely my career, family's future and every cent I own. This lawsuit is going to eat my life. It has to if we are to have a chance of winning. So, occasionally I have been known to pop off when somebody I'm working my ass off to try and help thinks I'm the typical greedhead we have all come to know and love in this wide world.

Why am I doing this you may well ask? Firstly, believe it or not, I want to help. Its a character flaw I've had to live with all my life. Secondly, this lawsuit has real moving parts and is an awesome legal challenge. I can hardly wait! Thirdly, yes I expect to be paid a small fortune if we win. However, in a class action it is the court that determines the lawyers' fees at the end of the day, not the lawyers or the clients, and this is certainly not the US in that regard. Oh well.

If you're ever in Toronto let me know and we'll get together for a brew and a thumb wrestle. I'm not bad. Hope you'll forgive me if I don't sue you.