StarKist, private equity firm Lion settle tuna price-fixing cases for $200 mln
StarKist agrees to $130 mln settlement for consumers; $58.7 mln in cash, product for other purchasers
Settlements resolve claims of price-fixing conspiracy
By Mike Scarcella
Aug 14 (Reuters) -Seafood giant StarKist, its parent Dongwon Industries and private equity firm Lion Capital, owner of Bumble Bee Foods, have agreed to pay $200 million to settle U.S. class actions claiming they overcharged consumers and other purchasers of packaged tuna.
A preliminary consumer settlement was filed on Tuesday night in federal court in San Diego, California, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. StarKist agreed to pay $130 million, according to the terms.
In a related settlement, also announced on Tuesday, StarKist and Dongwon, based in South Korea, agreed to pay $58.7 million in cash and tuna product and Lion agreed to pay $6 million to a class of direct purchasers of tuna that included national retailers and grocery stores.
Sabraw will consider the proposed settlements at a hearing on Aug. 23. The defendants have all denied any wrongdoing in the antitrust cases, which were first filed in 2015.
Reston, Virginia-based StarKist, which makes StarKist Tuna, in a statement said it was "glad to resolve these matters, and move forward with a new and positive chapter" for the company.
Lion, based in the UK, and its lawyersdid not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mark Rifkin, an attorney for the consumers, said the "settlement will get meaningful cash benefits to consumers across the country."
Lion acquired Bumble Bee in 2010 for $980 million, but the seafood company's assets were later sold as part of its 2019 bankruptcy.
The consumer class has more than 100 million members who bought cans of tuna between 2011 and 2015.
The deals resolve long-running claims over price-fixing in the packaged tuna market. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 turned down StarKist’s appeal of a decision granting class action status in the cases.
The civil price-fixing litigation came after criminal prosecutions of packaged tuna suppliers, including StarKist and Bumble Bee. Federal prosecutors claimed a price-fixing conspiracy affected more than $600 million in canned tuna sales for years.
Bumble Bee in 2017 and StarKist a year later pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy to violate federal antitrust laws.
The consumer class earlier reached a $16 million deal with Chicken of the Sea and its parent Thai Union Group, pushing the total recovery to $152.2 million.
The consumers’ lawyers said they would seek up to 33% of the fund for legal fees, or about $50.7 million.
A trial was set for July in the consumers' case, which had estimated $224 million in damages, court records show.
In Re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, No. 3:15-md-02670-DMS-MSB.
Read more:
U.S. Supreme Court rejects StarKist's tuna price-fixing class action appeal
Class lawyers defend certification order in tuna price-fixing case
Private equity firm Lion Capital loses bid to end tuna price-fixing lawsuit
En banc 9th Circuit takes up certification of classes with uninjured plaintiffs
Reporting by Mike Scarcella
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