A lawyer representing direct purchasers in a class-action lawsuit alleging price-fixing by Norwegian farmed salmon firms said while his firm is conducting its own due diligence, his case is reliant in large part on the European Union’s ongoing investigation into the matter.
Michael Lehmann, a partner with San Francisco, California, U.S.A.-based Hausfeld LLP, told SeafoodSource the E.U.’s initial announcement of its inquiry in February 2019 was an impetus in the filing of his clients’ complaint, and that any findings from the investigation will likely play a major role in how the case is decided.
“The E.U. investigation plays a significant part in the allegation, as you can see from reading the public complaint,” he said. “It bolstered a lot of additional allegations about the industry that independently raise concerns about anti-competitive conduct.”
While the E.U. has not released any additional information on its investigation since its first and only communication, the pace at which the class-action lawsuit is expected to proceed allows for a window of time whereby any new findings released by the E.U. can be incorporated into the complaint, Lehmann said.
“I suspect over the remainder of this year, the judge will be deciding jurisdiction-related issues and there will be a period of discovery as well as a hearing as to whether the complaint adequately states a cause of action under U.S. antitrust laws,” Lehmann said. “I don’t expect the judge to actually begin hearing motions until 2020.”
The defendants, which include Mowi, SalMar, Lerøy Seafood, Grieg Seafood, Ocean Quality, and others, are expected to file a motion challenging the jurisdiction of U.S. District Court in the Southern District, which is where the case was filed. The filing is expected within the next four to six weeks, according to court documents.
There has been no public announcement by any U.S. authority acknowledging an investigation into allegations of price-fixing in the Norwegian farmed salmon sector, even as the U.S. Department of Justice is wrapping up a criminal investigation into price-fixing in the U.S. canned tuna market that took place from 2011 to 2013.
“I am not at present aware of any U.S. investigation, but the Justice Department certainly wouldn’t disclose that in advance,” he said.
Besides the E.U. investigation, the lawsuit filed by Lehmann’s clients cites a trove of circumstantial information to outline allegedly collusive practices in the Norwegian farmed salmon sector. Lehmann said a 2016 speech by International Salmon Farmers Association President Trond Davidsen as particularly persuasive in advancing the suit’s argument that collusion has taken place in the sector.
“Trond Davidsen of the ISFA talking about the fact that there’s a new culture within the industry, a culture of cooperation versus competition that existed previously, is important,” Lehmann said.
Lehmann said he couldn’t comment on whether any of the clients involved in the lawsuit have entered into any kind of negotiations on a potential settlement. He also said he couldn’t speak on behalf of the indirect purchasers or individual consumers, who have filed their own lawsuits alleging price-fixing by the Norwegian farmed salmon sector. According to a transcript of a 1 May hearing in the case, Judge Cecilia Altonaga said she expects those other cases may be combined into one joint class-action suit in the coming months.
Photo courtesy of Hausfeld LLP
