A U.S. court has authorized distribution of USD 152.2 million (EUR 133.7 million) from funds linked to the settlement of a lawsuit against Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee, and StarKist related to their alleged connections to a price-fixing scheme for canned tuna.
U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw of the Southern District of California signed the order on 27 July, closing a longstanding legal battle.
The civil lawsuit started after all three tuna companies were indicted on federal price-fixing charges, which ultimately led to former Bumble Bee President and CEO Chris Lischewski being sentenced to prison, a USD 100 million (EUR 87.8 million) fine against StarKist, and USD 25 million (EUR 22 million) in fines against Bumble Bee. The criminal case determined Lischewski was involved in a scheme between Bumble Bee, StarKist, and Chicken of the Sea to fix the price of tuna over a period spanning three years, starting in November 2010.
Soon after the criminal case was launched, a series of civil cases followed, which U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Janis Sammartino divided into four tracks: claims brought by direct purchasers bringing their own suits against the tuna companies, direct purchasers pursuing a collective class action, indirect purchasers moving forward as a putative class, and individual consumers proceeding as a joint class or end-payer plaintiffs.
Those lawsuits also wound their way through the courts, and in 2023, Chicken of the Sea and its parent company Thai Union agreed to pay USD 13 million (EUR 11.4) for legal fees and a and a maximum settlement of USD 20 million (EUR 17.5 million) to end-payer plaintiffs. Bumble Bee and StarKist owner Dongwon also agreed to settle the lawsuit with direct-purchaser plaintiffs in 2024, with filings in August of that year revealing over USD 200 million (EUR 175.6 million) in settlements.
In November 2024, Sabraw approved settlement agreements for StarKist and Bumble Bee for end-payer plaintiffs and direct-purchaser plaintiffs, alongside deciding attorney fees. In the process of settling the cases, Sabraw also decided to withhold payment until all money needed for the various payments were collected.
“Due to the costs of claim administration, payments to the settlement class were not immediately distributed but held until all settlement amounts have been paid by the settling defendants as required by the settlement agreements,” Sabraw wrote.
The latest order comes after the tuna companies successfully created the settlement funds and reached the total of USD 152.2 million (EUR 133.7 million).
Sabraw said all funds to be distributed were collected after the defendants began depositing them in escrow in 2022, and the time to appeal the case has expired. The plan will see payment to all class members in the lawsuit with valid claims, and it set a “floor” that will ensure every claimant receives no less than USD 5.00 (EUR 4.39).
Not all of the funds will be going directly to claimants. The disbursement authorization also allowed for USD 628,209 (EUR 552,017) in funds for fees and expenses paid to JND Legal, as it had to review and track nearly 1 million claims and validate each one.
“For example, over 6,000 claims were filed in paper form and had to be manually entered into a database,” the order states. “JND also sent and resolved over 200,000 deficiency notices. The court approves the payment of this unpaid amount as fair, reasonable, and necessary for the administration of claims in this complex antitrust class action.”
The court also permitted a reserve of USD 925,000 (EUR 812,812) from the settlement fund to cover the cost of distribution of the money, which involves USD 335,000 (EUR 294,369) for postage, USD 230,000 (EUR 202,089) for check printing and other methods of issuing the funds, and USD 310,000 (EUR 272,381) for contact center support and other expenses like website maintenance.
The court established a strict timeline for the settlement process, and within 10 days of the order, the companies will transfer the funds to JND to distribute. Within 30 days, JND will begin distributing the funds, and claimants will be given 60 days to cash their checks before they are canceled. Then, 120 days after the checks are distributed, the settlement class counsel will provide the court for progress on the distribution of funds, and at 180 days, the final accounting of that distribution will take place.
