Tuna Makers Win Shot at Decertifying Price-Fixing Class Action

Bumble Bee Foods LLC, StarKist Co., and Chicken of the Sea International convinced the Ninth Circuit to immediately review a judge’s decision certifying the tuna price-fixing lawsuit against them as a consolidated class action.

The multidistrict lawsuit also targets StarKist parent Dongwon Industries Co. Ltd., Chicken of the Sea parent Thai Union Group Co. Ltd., and the private equity firms that own Bumble Bee, Lion Capital LLP and Big Catch Cayman LP.

The suit, proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, accuses the canned tuna makers of coordinating their prices since 2011. The conspiracy ...