John Balguma
BSA 502: Business Systems II
March 31, 2012
Valerie Torval
Kudler Fine Foods’ Legal Focus When running a company, it is of utmost importance that all activities carried out by the company and the products they serve to the public comply to the standard regulations set by whatever industry they happen to be in. For a specialty food and grocery company like Kudler Fine Foods, one of the regulations they must conform to are food safety and handling. Other important regulations that must be followed may also include labor laws and ensuring the safety of their employees and customers. Handling all legal actions and ensuring that Kudler remain compliant in all their operations is a heavy job for Kudler’s only legal consultant, Anne Shousha, who also happens to be Kathy Kudler’s sister-in-law (Apollo, 2012). Anne charges Kathy $100 per hour whenever they conduct formal meetings to discuss legal issues. While this may keep legal costs at a minimum for Kathy, a sound legal system that allows her and her employees to effectively litigate any small claims and settle them outside of the courts may eliminate any legal costs completely (Apollo, 2012).
Product Liability Legal-Explanations.com defines product liability as the “legal responsibility of the manufacturers, wholesellers, retailers to the buyers or users of the damages or injuries caused by the use of defective products. These can include contamination of food, improper label warnings, defective parts in automobile industry etc” (Legal-Explanations, 2012). For Kudler Fine Foods, the point about proper care of food is an especially important one. Accidents and lawsuits filed against the company due to improper handling of food can be a disastrous blow to Kudler’s business and their public trust. In a food poisoning case which claimed that lives of 12 people in Toronto, Canada, meat producer Maple Leaf Foods had to
References: Apollo Group (March 30, 2012). Kudler Fine Foods – Legal Overview. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler2/intranet/legal-overview.asp Legal-Explanations (March 31, 2012). Definition – Product Liability. Retrieved from http://www.legal-explanations.com/definitions/product-liability.htm LexisNexis (2012). Compliance Manager powered by QUMAS [software]. Available from http://corporate.lexisnexis.com/www.lexisnexis.com/compliance_manager/?section=FEATURES#sectionsbar Rampton, R (August 26, 2008). Canada Says 12 Dead in Food Poisoning Outbreak. Reuters. Retrieved March 31, 2012 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/08/26/us-meat-idUSN2526525120080826 Sai Global (2012). Compliance360 Compliance Software Solution [software]. Available from http://www.compliance360.com/solution_compliance_management.asp?src=ggl&gclid=CImtk-72lq8CFQOEhwod3n10xg