The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday filed a class action lawsuit against Taipei’s Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant, food court operator Food Republic (大食代餐飲) and Far Eastern Department Store on behalf of the families of victims who died or got poisoned after dining at the eatery in March.
The foundation said that it would represent families of five who died of food poisoning and 16 others who were poisoned, and is seeking a total compensation of approximately NT$293 million (US$9.01 million) from the three parties.
The class action suit involves 30 plaintiffs, foundation secretary-general Chen Ya-ping (陳雅萍) said.
Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times
The parents of one of the deceased chose to settle with the defendants, as they live in Malaysia and consider lawsuits in Taiwan a burden, she said.
An expert meeting held by the Taipei City Government had established that it was an incident of food poisoning caused by Burkholderia gladioli, said Joann Su (蘇錦霞), who is acting as convener of lawyers working on the case.
“We hope that, before reaching a final verdict at the court, the defendants can try resolving the disputes by negotiating a settlement first,” she said.
The foundation also said in a statement that the compensation that it is seeking covers the costs of meals in the restaurant, medical expenses, medical transportation expenses, loss of wages, nursing expenses, future medical expenses, impaired ability to work, funeral expenses, alimony, consolation funds and punitive damages.
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