Attorney: Mouse claim is attack on Coca-Cola
James Taylor, left, representing Duane Putzier, talks with Brian Johnson, right, and Jack Theeler, not pictured, representing Coca-Cola, Tuesday before a motions hearing at the Davison County Courthouse in Mitchell. (Jake Shama / Republic)A mouse that a Mitchell man alleges was inside his Coca-Cola can would have been further decomposed, defense attorneys believe.
"It had fur. It had blood on its nose. It's limbs were intact. There was very minor decomposition," said Brian Johnson, one attorney representing Coca-Cola, during a motions hearing Tuesday at the Davison County Courthouse.
Attorneys representing plaintiff Duane Putzier, of Mitchell, and Coca-Cola Refreshments USA appeared, as Coca-Cola sought approval to call more witnesses in an extended jury trial.
Putzier filed a civil suit against Coca-Cola after allegedly finding a mouse at the bottom of a pop can on June 7. Putzier said he fell ill, missing 60 hours of work and accumulating $1,000 in medical bills.
Johnson, of Minneapolis, represented Coca-Cola alongside Jack Theeler, of Mitchell, and said he anticipates testimony from a veterinary pathologist, who will analyze the mouse's decomposition.
"Coca-Cola is faced with a claim that's really an attack on its brand," Johnson said. "Coca-Cola takes these cases extremely seriously and tries them all."
In court documents, Theeler and Johnson argued if a mouse were in the can of Coca-Cola for approximately six weeks, between the time of bottling and time of consumption, it would have been in a more advanced stage of decomposition, and the gases produced would have compromised the can.
The defense also anticipates testimony from the quality assurance manager and line supervisor of the Portland, Indiana, bottling plant, where the can in question was bottled, among other witnesses.
But to accommodate the witnesses, Johnson on Tuesday asked Judge Patrick Smith to modify limitations of the expedited civil action.
Expedited civil actions were written into South Dakota law on Jan. 1, 2016, after receiving approval by the South Dakota Supreme Court. Cases may be expedited if the plaintiff is only seeking monetary repayment, valued under $75,000. If a jury later awarded the plaintiff more than that, the judge would reduce the amount, according to court documents.
Putzier is seeking $2,026, plus general damages as proven at trial, with interest, and on Oct. 3, Putzier's former attorney, Braden Hoefert, elected to bring the lawsuit as an expedited claim.
In this type of civil suit, parties are restricted to one witness and six hours, which Johnson said was too restrictive for this case.
Because the law is new, Judge Smith said the case was in "uncharted territory," and he was unsure what authority he had to expand an expedited case.
"I don't mind setting an example for others. I just want it to be a good one," Smith said.
Instead of modifying the expedited civil action limitations, Putzier's attorney, James Taylor, of Mitchell, suggested removing the case from the expedited process entirely.
Taylor has not filed a formal motion to do so, and Smith asked the parties to seek a decision on their own. Theeler believes an agreement will be reached.
"The judge obviously is going to allow some extension beyond the expedited rules ... but it's kind of premature to say what it's going to be now," Theeler said.
For now, Smith approved three experts for each party and agreed to lengthen the time limit for a trial. Johnson asked for four days, but the trial could take longer.
