Tag: price-fixing
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Insurers Need Not Defend Egg Producer Embroiled in Antitrust Litigation
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that liability insurers of a major U.S. egg producer have no obligation to defend it in class action lawsuits alleging that the egg producer conspired with others to keep the price of eggs artificially high. Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. Columbia Cas. Co., No. 11-1599 (7th Cir.,…
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Trade Groups and Dairy Coops Accused of Slaughtering Cows to Keep Milk Prices High
According to a news source, two antitrust lawsuits were filed in a California federal court this week alleging that dairy trade groups and coops manipulated dairy prices between 2003 and 2010 under a program that slaughtered more than 500,000 cows. The suits reportedly allege that the National Milk Producers Federation and major dairy farmer cooperatives,…
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Court Gives Preliminary Approval to $30M Settlement of Dairy Antitrust Claims
A federal court in Vermont has certified a class of 9,000 to 10,000 dairy farmers who allege that Dean Foods Co. and others engaged in anticompetitive conduct and given preliminary approval to a settlement reached in December 2010. Allen v. Dairy Farmers of Am., Inc., No. 09-00230 (D. Vt., order entered May 4, 2011). Under…
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Dean Foods Dairy Price-Fixing Settlement Under Attack
According to a news source, a co-defendant in litigation alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the northeastern U.S. milk market has filed objections to the tentative deal reached by Dean Foods Co. and the dairy farmers who filed the lawsuit. Allen v. Dairy Farmers of Am., No. __ (D. Vt., settlement reached December 24, 2010). More…
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Retail Food Interests Allege Price Fixing in Egg Market
A coalition of food wholesalers and retailers has filed an antitrust lawsuit in a Kansas state court against egg producers and industry trade groups alleging that, by reducing the number of hens, increasing egg exports and decreasing hen lifecycles, the defendants conspired to manipulate egg prices, which have more than doubled in recent years. Associated…
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Cases Recently Settled—Dairy Price Fixing, BPA in Baby Bottles
Northeast dairy farmers have reportedly settled their price-fixing claims against Dean Foods Co. for $30 million and injunctive relief requiring the company to buy a portion of its raw milk from multiple sources. Allen v. Dairy Farmers of America, No. __ (D. Vt., settlement reached December 24, 2010). While the agreement requires court approval, it…
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Restaurateur Alleges Potato Price-Fixing Conspiracy
On behalf of a putative nationwide class of indirect potato purchasers, a San Francisco restaurateur has sued a number of potato industry participants, including co-operatives, growers, packers, and distributors, alleging that they have conspired since 2006 to control and reduce the supply of potatoes in an effort to keep crop prices high. Florez v. Idahoan…
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Chocolate Price-Fixing Case Certified for Appeal to Federal Appeals Court
A federal court in Pennsylvania has certified for immediate appeal its denial of the defendants’ motion to dismiss in multidistrict litigation (MDL) alleging price-fixing by chocolate manufacturers. In re Chocolate Confectionary Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1935 (M.D. Pa., April 8, 2009). The defendants in these 87 consolidated lawsuits reportedly supply 75 percent of the chocolate…