Announcement Compilation
Class action lawsuit regarding consumer disputes arising from the school's exposure to problematic cooking oil from the Zhonglian Grease Company
{{ $t('FEZ002') }} Student Affairs Office|
| Subject: | Forwarding information regarding the class action lawsuit for consumer disputes arising from schools affected by Zhonglian Oil Company's problematic cooking oil, details as per the explanation, please acknowledge. |
| Explanation: |
| 1. | In accordance with the letter No. 1150077708 dated August 20, 115 from the Ministry of Education's Department of Secondary and Preschool Education (hereinafter referred to as the "DSPE") and the minutes of the meeting held on July 28, 115 by the Executive Yuan's Consumer Protection Committee on "Discussing the Class Action Lawsuit for the Zhonglian Oil Company Oil Incident" for implementation. |
| 2. | To assist schools, faculty, staff, and students affected by Zhonglian Oil Company's problematic cooking oil in handling consumer dispute class action lawsuits, the DSPE requested the Taiwan Consumer Protection Association (hereinafter referred to as "TCPA"), which is handling the campus class action lawsuit, to consider the feasibility of practical operations during the aforementioned meeting. According to the TCPA's explanation during the meeting, the relevant handling principles are as follows: |
| (1) | Regarding the application deadline and flexibility for supplementary documents: According to the TCPA, the deadline for submitting applications for this class action lawsuit is October 30, 115. This deadline has been extended to account for the summer vacation period and the time required for schools' practical operations, and will not be further extended. However, considering factors such as student reclassification, transfers, and graduations, if a school cannot complete the collection of all documents before the deadline, preliminary application documents may be submitted first, and the remaining relevant documents can be supplemented within one month, to balance the timeline for the class action lawsuit and the needs of schools' practical operations. |
| (2) | Regarding the collection of application documents and personal information: Although this case involves schools consolidating application data on behalf of students, the actual applicants for the class action lawsuit are individual students or faculty members. Therefore, each applicant must still complete and submit three application documents: a basic information form, a letter of assignment, and a declaration of no settlement with the vendor. All these documents must be originals. For minor students, their legal guardians must sign. The aforementioned documents are necessary for the court's class action lawsuit proceedings, and schools are requested to assist in their collection and consolidation. |
| (3) | Regarding administrative reduction for problematic cooking oil and menu data: Schools are requested to provide the batch numbers of the problematic cooking oil and related menu data. This is based on past class action lawsuit experience and will serve as supporting evidence for the court's subsequent review. Considering the wide range of affected menus in this case, to reduce the administrative burden on schools for compiling data line by line, schools only need to mark the relevant menus with a checkmark or highlighter on the meal service sheets (forms) where the problematic cooking oil was used. There is no need to re-create the meal service data. |
| (4) | Regarding the method of compensation payment and claim amount: Considering current fraud cases and personal data security risks, it is not advisable to collect students' personal financial account information during the class action lawsuit application stage. Therefore, it is planned that compensation will be centrally allocated and managed by the schools. It is also recommended that schools properly retain the contact information of students participating in the class action lawsuit to avoid difficulties in future contact due to student graduations or transfers. Once the compensation is deposited into the school, the school will confirm the final payee and related details with students and parents to avoid disputes. Furthermore, the final actual compensation amount will be determined by the court, and schools are requested to explain this to students and faculty members. |
| 3. | The DSPE will continue to cooperate with the Executive Yuan's Consumer Protection Committee and the TCPA in handling related coordination matters for this case, and will collect practical implementation opinions from local governments and schools in a timely manner to reflect them to the relevant authorities. The aim is to protect the consumer rights of affected students and faculty members while balancing the procedural requirements of the class action lawsuit and the administrative burden on schools. |
| 4. | The TCPA has updated the application form for the campus class action lawsuit regarding problematic cooking oil, and it has been published on their website (https://www.cpat.org.tw/page/news/show.aspx?num=326&kind=75&page=1). Please proceed according to the operational procedures. |
{{ $t('FEZ003') }} Invalid date
{{ $t('FEZ014') }} Invalid date|
{{ $t('FEZ004') }} 2026-08-25|
{{ $t('FEZ005') }} 48|