FINAL DOCKET HEARING FOR PAUL KRUSE SET FOR JULY 22

  
Paul Kruse

A final docket call and hearing ahead of the trial of former Blue Bell Creameries President Paul Kruse has been set for later this month.

Federal Judge Robert Pitman has scheduled the docket hearing for July 22nd in federal court in Austin.  During the hearing, Pitman will decide on pending pre-trial motions leading up to the jury trial beginning August 1st.

Kruse’s defense attorneys, Chris Flood of Houston and John Cline of Seattle, have filed motions to dismiss parts of his criminal indictment, including discussion on sanitation issues or any responsibility he had to disclose information to customers.

There are also pre-trial motions from government prosecutors, seeking to prohibit testimony about the 2008 Food and Drug Administration draft guidance on controlling Listeria monocytogenes in refrigerated and frozen ready-to-eat foods.  The motions would also bar testimony about the unimplemented Critical Information, Grocery Store Notification and Consumer Notification provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

If the prosecution’s motions are approved, they would not exclude testimony on those matters if Kruse testifies that he relied upon them.

Kruse faces one count of conspiracy and six counts of fraud in relation to the 2015 listeria outbreak, which led to the deaths of three people and 10 hospitalizations.

In a related case, Blue Bell pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing adulterated food products in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  The company paid $19.35 million in fines, forfeitures, and civil settlement payments, the second-largest amount ever paid for the resolution of a food safety matter.

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