Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—J.P.M.L.: Seafood price fixing suits centralized in San Diego, (Dec 11, 2015)
Law Firms Mentioned:Cera LLP | Kaplan Fox Kilsheimer LLP
Organizations Mentioned:Affiliated Foods, Inc. | Bumble Bee Foods, LLC | Central Grocers, Inc. | Cera, LLP | Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, LLP | King Oscar, Inc. | Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co., Inc. | StarKist Co. | Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC
By Jeffrey May, J.D.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has decided that more than 50 pending price fixing actions brought against packaged seafood products producers in various federal district courts around the country will be consolidated in the federal district court in San Diego for coordinated pretrial proceedings. It was found that centralization in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where the vast majority of the related actions already were pending, would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation (In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, December 9, 2015, Vance, S.).
The actions brought by direct and indirect seafood purchases after the alleged anticompetitive conduct was discovered to be the subject of a Department of Justice criminal investigation. The plaintiffs allege that Bumble Bee Foods LLC, Tri-Union Seafoods LLC (Chicken of the Sea), and StarKist Co.—the three largest producers of packaged seafood products in the U.S. with an alleged collective market share of more than 70 percent—conspired to fix prices.
Existence of consumer class action in another district. The JPML did not consider the existence of a consumer class action against StarKist pending in the federal district court in San Francisco as a reason to centralize the action in that forum. StarKist had argued that the cases involved common questions of fact and overlapping claims. The company also expressed concern that there was a risk of inconsistent rulings and prejudice if the price fixing suits were to be consolidated elsewhere.
The case is MDL No. 2670.
Attorneys: Elana Katcher (Kaplan Fox Kilsheimer LLP) for Affiliated Foods, Inc. Solomon B. Cera (Cera LLP) for Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co., Inc. and Central Grocers, Inc.
Companies: Affiliated Foods, Inc.; Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co., Inc.; Central Grocers, Inc.; Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC ; King Oscar, Inc.; Bumble Bee Foods, LLC; StarKist Co.
Cases: Antitrust