Settlements: Pet Food Companies Agree To $24 Million Settlement Over Killer Pet Food:

After a two-week delay to make sure the language of the settlement met U.S. and Canadian law, about 30 pet food makers have agreed to pay out $24 million to customers whose pets were killed or injured in the tainted food fiasco a year ago. Victims will be reimbursed for expenses, including vet and burial/cremation bills. Additionally, ‘pet owners can request reimbursement for the cost or fair-market value—whichever is higher—of a deceased pet or one purchased in replacement. Owners who don’t have documentation of expenses can get as much as $900 each. All claims are subject to review.’

We were very lucky in that none of the food we were buying at the time was contaminated or of any of the contaminated brands — we’d purchased some of those brands in the past. It seems unusual to me that the settlement actually includes substantial recovery for victims–most of these class-action settlements result in victims being awarded a coupon to buy more of the tainted product, plus millions in legal fees.