Tuna Companies Accused of Price Fixing in Supermarket Cooperative’s Lawsuit

Bumble Bee Foods, Starkist Co. and Thai Union Frozen Products have
been fixing tuna prices since 2011, according to a putative class action
brought by Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative, Inc. Olean Wholesale
Grocery Coop. v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC, No. 15-1714 (S.D. Cal., filed
August 3, 2015). The complaint notes that while tuna consumption
has fallen in the United States, prices have risen, which cannot be
explained by raw material costs, the cooperative says. The complaint
also details opportunities for the companies to meet and collude, such
as industry conferences and various mergers and acquisitions within
the “oligopolistic structure” of the industry. For claims of Sherman Act
violations, the cooperative seeks to represent a nationwide class of those
affected by the alleged price-fixing, court declarations of conspiracy,
treble damages and an injunction from continuing any sort of agreement
or understanding about maintaining prices.

Issue 574