StarKist Loses Bid to Narrow Antitrust Claims by Large Retailers

StarKist Co., its current and former parent companies, and a Bumble Bee Foods LLC affiliate must face a trial on the full scope of antitrust claims brought by major retailers over their alleged scheme to fix canned tuna prices, a federal judge in San Diego ruled Monday.

Judge Dana M. Sabraw denied partial summary judgment to the canned tuna companies, which had invoked the four-year statute of limitations in a bid to narrow claims first asserted in 2015 by Dollar General Corp., Kroger Co., Meijer Inc., and others.

The evidence suggests each tuna company may have worked ...