1. Suppose Stewart was never told about the rat problem. Did he have a responsibility to find out?

2. What about the workers who shipped the contaminated meat each day? Should they be found guilty of some crime? What about the government inspectors who let the warehouse operate for three years? Who is most culpable?

3. Should Stewart have been sentenced to serve prison time? If there were evidence that a consumer suffered medical problems related to the infestation, would there be any tort claims against LaGrou? Against Stewart?

LaGrou’s warehouse in Chicago stored frozen meat for various food companies in the region. Its cold storage facility held
more than 20 million pounds of poultry, pork, and beef. That building also had a severe rodent problem, as evidenced by rat droppings that could be found in every corner of the warehouse and nests
found in boxes of meat. The company organized employee “rat patrols” that would catch up to 50 rats a day, but more would enter each night. Packing areas had puddles of beef blood mixed with rat hair and feces, and meat boxes showed rat trails with teeth marks. According to government inves-tigators, employees would mark rat-infested boxes with “MM” for Mickey Mouse, but the boxes were not discarded. The warehouse was referred to by employees as an “amusement park for rats” and a “house of horrors for the City of Chicago.” Evidence indicated that Stewart, president of LaGrou, knew of the rat infestation for a period of three years. Stewart told the employees to keep catching rats but refused to perform a full extermination because he determined that it would be too expensive. After notification that U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors had scheduled a visit, Stewart had the employees work through the night to throw away boxes of rat-infested meat. Yet the USDA inspectors still found the rats, the filth, and the discarded meat. Stewart was charged with vio-lating federal criminal laws prohibiting the sale of adulterated meat. At trial, Stewart defended that he did not have the requisite knowledge for criminal liability because he had no actual knowledge of any specific meat contamination.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Stewart and LaGrou. The court held that knowledge of anyrat problem was sufficient and that Stewart was liable for all the violations that he was in charge of preventing. The court ruled that the government need not prove that Stewart had actual knowledge of specific meats that were contaminated. Stewart had a responsibility to install systems to ensure sanitation standards. The court affirmed the trial court’s order that Stewart must contribute personal assets to the $8.2 million in fines and serve five years on probation.

Conduct of Others  “The conditions at LaGrou’s cold storage warehouse at 2101 Pershing Road in Chicago were enough to turn even the most enthusiastic meat-loving carnivore into a vegetarian.  .  .  . In this case, the government needed to prove that agents of the LaGrou corporation knowingly stored meat, poultry, and food products under unsanitary conditions. LaGrou’s president, Jack Stewart, and the Pershing Road warehouse manager, David Smith, were both well aware of the rodent infestation problem and other insanitary conditions at the warehouse, yet persisted in storing and distributing meat, poultry, and food products there.”