Bumble Bee Foods and StarKist, as well as their parent companies, have reached settlement agreements with several retailers who claim they were damaged by a conspiracy that artificially raised the prices of canned tuna.
Bumble Bee, StarKist, and Chicken of the Sea – the so-called “Big Three” canned tuna purveyors in the U.S.A. – allegedly violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by conspiring to keep the prices of their products higher than market value. Bumble Bee and StarKist have pleaded guilty to criminal charges that they played roles in the conspiracy, while Chicken of the Sea was exempted from criminal prosecution because it served as the whistleblower in the case.
On 7 June, Bumble Bee and owner Lion Capital reached an agreement with Walmart to dismiss the retailer’s civil suit related to the price-fixing. Terms of the agreement were not announced; however, in January, StarKist paid Walmart USD 20.5 million (EUR 17.9 million) to resolve all antritrust claims brought by the Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S.A.-based retailer, which is the largest retailer of canned tuna in the country.
StarKist also settled several civil suits filed against it by retailers who claim they were affected by the alleged price-fixing. Wegmans Food Markets and Krasdale Foods settled with StarKist and parent company Dongwon Industries on 10 June. CVS Pharmacy settled with StarKist and Dongwon on 5 June, the same day StarKist came to agreements with 29 other retailers, including Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Giant Eagle, Kmart, and Western Family Foods. Terms of those agreements were also not made public.
Bi-Lo Holdings and Winn-Dixie Stores are also in the process of working out agreements with the Big Three tuna suppliers, according to a court document filed 31 May. The parties have received an extension until 21 June to resolve their disputes, and if that deadline is not met, then the case will proceed to its next phase, which is filing for determination of discovery disputes.
