StarKist Settles Canned Tuna Price-Fixing Lawsuit for $1 Billion

StarKist Co. has narrowly averted a courtroom showdown by reaching a $1 billion settlement with tuna buyers who accused the company of manipulating prices in a class action lawsuit. This settlement comes just days before the case was set to go to trial on July 15th.

Canned Tuna Price-Fixing Scheme Leads to Lawsuits

The class action lawsuit stems from a 2015 Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that uncovered a price-fixing conspiracy within the U.S. canned tuna industry. Investigators found that StarKist, along with its competitor Bumble Bee Foods, had colluded to fix prices for canned tuna from late 2011 to late 2013. Both companies subsequently admitted guilt in 2018.

Following the DOJ's investigation, a wave of lawsuits were filed against StarKist, Bumble Bee, and other industry players alleging price manipulation. These lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) overseen by a California federal court judge. A key issue in the MDL became whether the numerous buyers suing the companies could proceed as a class.

Tuna Buyers Reel in $1 Billion Settlement After Years of Litigation

StarKist argued that a class action wasn't appropriate because not all tuna buyers were necessarily overcharged. However, in 2019, a California judge certified three separate buyer classes for the lawsuit: direct purchasers like national grocery stores, commercial food preparers, and individual consumers.

StarKist appealed this decision, arguing that the presence of potentially uninjured plaintiffs within the class disqualified it from class action status. The company's appeal climbed all the way to the Supreme Court, but the high court declined to hear the case in November 2022. This left the lower court's class certification decision standing.

Bumble Bee Foods, the other major player implicated in the DOJ investigation, also pleaded guilty to price-fixing and faced financial penalties. Additionally, former Bumble Bee CEO Christopher Lischewski was convicted at trial in 2020 and sentenced to 40 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. He was released in June 2023.

StarKist Dodges Trial with Last-Minute Settlement

With the trial date approaching and facing the potential for a hefty payout in a class action setting, StarKist opted to settle the case for $1 billion. This settlement avoids the uncertainty and potentially higher costs of a trial. The settlement amount will be distributed among the three classes of buyers according to a court-approved plan.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: In Re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation
• Case Number: 3:15-md-02670
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California