StarKist Co. and the former owner of Bumble Bee Foods LLC have reached a settlement with tuna buyers before a trial over antitrust claims of an alleged scheme to fix canned tuna prices.
StarKist along with its parent company, Dongwon Industries Co., Ltd., and Lion Capital, which owned Bumble Bee before its 2019 bankruptcy, have settled suits with direct tuna purchaser plaintiffs and end-payor plaintiffs, according to a Tuesday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
Magistrate Judge Michael S. Berg ordered the plaintiffs to file motions for preliminary approval of the settlement no later than July 25. The companies didn’t disclose details of the settlement, but it seeks to thwart multidistrict litigation dating back to 2015 when plaintiffs alleged a conspiracy among the tuna companies to fix and maintain packaged tuna prices above competitive levels.
Bumble Bee filed for bankruptcy in 2019 amid criminal fines and civil lawsuits over price-fixing. Its assets were sold to Taiwan-based FCF Co. during the bankruptcy.
The defendant tuna companies were set to face a trial on the full scope of antitrust claims brought by major retailers over their alleged scheme to fix canned tuna prices after a federal judge in 2022 denied the companies’ motion for summary judgment.
The plaintiffs are represented by firms including Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro LLP. Starkist is represented by firms including Latham & Watkins LLP.
The case is In Re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, S.D. Cal., No. 3:15-md-02670, 6/25/24.
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