Tnuva appeals silicone scandal ruling
Conglomerate appeals against District Court ruling ordering it to pay multi-million shekel fine for adding silicon agents to 1% milk in 1995
Tnuva, Israel’s largest food conglomerate, filed an appeal on the Tel Aviv District Court's August ruling ordering it to pay NIS 55 million (approx. $15.55 million) in damages to the consumers and plaintiffs affected by the infamous 1995 silicon scandal.
The silicon scandal first came to light in September of 1995, following a newspaper exposé which suggested that Tnuva was illegally adding dimethylsiloxane – a silicon derivative – to its UTH (long-life) 1% skimmed milk.
Tnuva, said the court on Tuesday, deliberately misled both the consumers and the State regulatory authorities monitoring its actions.
The 80-page appeal, filed with the Supreme Court, claims that Justice Amiram Benyamini, who presided over the trial, "twisted" the ruling to match his own convictions in the case, and that his final judgment was meant to appease the media, no less.
Benyamini, stated the appeal, "rendered a ruling meant to meet the media's expectations, and one which unfortunately disregarded proper judicial rules, which would have resulted in a less than popular result… With all due respect, it is hard to dismiss the impression that the court made up its mind before the arguments were heard.
"There is no way to avoid pointing out that the court spared no effort to overcome any 'obstacle' en route to its ruling; systematically and radically 'blackening' Tnuva's image and disregarding the evidence… Tnuva does not deny its liability in the case, but it is eligible to a fair trial. The extreme tendentiousness of the verdict indicates the (district) court did not provide that," continued the appeal.
Tainted considerations?
Tnuva's attorneys also challenged Benyamini's decision to include a Maagar Mochot research institute consumer survey regarding the scandal. The survey suggested that the majority of the consumers who purchased Tnuva's milk stopped doing so after the silicon scandal broke.
Using a survey performed by the same company which performs the annual "judges feedback" survey for the Courts Administration, noted the appeal, was a "grave mistake on the court's part."
Judge Benyamini is expected to render the final part of his ruling in the next few weeks, and is expected to order Tnuva to pay higher restitution to some of the plaintiffs.
Tnuva offered the following comment: "Tnuva has owned up to its mistake, drew the appropriate conclusions and has undergone an extensive reform since the event, which took place 13 years ago.
"The company decided to appeal the ruling since it states an unprecedented, random, unfounded and astronomical figure. Nevertheless, Tnuva intends to work with the plaintiffs in order to reach a settlement, in accordance to the court's order.
"The case is pending a Supreme Court decision and therefore we cannot go into great detail."
Attorney Yael Unger is a consumerism expert who writes a weekly column on Ynet
