Tiger Brands receives listeriosis class action summons, vows to fight it

Tiger Brands [JSE:TBS] announced on Wednesday that it had received a summons for a class action suit linked to the listeriosis outbreak. 

The food group said it received the summons from the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. Tiger Brands intends to fight the class action filing.

In February, the court determined that Richard Spoor Attorneys could go ahead with a class action application representing over a thousand people affected by the listeriosis outbreak in 2017 and 2018 that claimed over 200 lives.

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In a note to shareholders, Tiger Brands said no specific damages were being claimed. The first stage of the class action is concerned with liability, and not the cost of damages, it said. 

"The quantum of damages will be dealt with in the second stage of the class action, after the court has made a ruling with regard to liability, and only if the court finds that the Company is liable," the statement read.

The company said the plaintiffs were claiming for damages in terms of the Consumer Protection Act. 

"As previously confirmed, the company has product liability insurance cover appropriate for a group of its scale. Coverage is subject to the terms and limits of the policy," the statement said.