StarKist and Lion Capital will pay out USD 3.875 million (EUR 3.6 million) to settle tuna price-fixing claims brought by customers of DOT Foods, Sysco, US Foods, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Costco.
A final hearing on the settlement is scheduled for 15 November 2024, with a deadline for those who wish to be excluded from the settlement set for 30 August 2024, according to the U.S. Sun.
If approved, individuals and companies that purchased foodservice-size packaged tuna products of 40 ounces or greater from DOT Foods, Sysco, US Foods, Sam’s Club, Walmart, or Costco between June 2011 and December 2016 are eligible to receive a pro-rated share of the funds, based on the amount of tuna they bought.
Starkist will pay USD 3.6 million (EUR 3.3 million) of the settlement, while former Bumble Bee Foods owner Lion Capital will pay USD 275,000 (EUR 254,000). Neither admitted any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
Chicken of the Sea and its parent company, Thai Union, agreed in 2019 to pay USD 6.5 million (then EUR 5.8 million) to resolve claims from the same class of litigants.
The claims were all based on a scandal involving the three largest manufacturers of canned tuna for the U.S. market, which resulted in criminal convictions of Starkist and Bumble Bee.
Most of the civil litigation that followed the criminal cases has been resolved through settlements, with four classes of plaintiffs negotiating on their own or at the behest of U.S. District Court Judge Dana M. Sabraw to sidestep a potentially expensive trial.
In June 2024, a deal was proposed to end litigation between the end-payer and direct-purchaser plaintiffs and StarKist owner Dongwon Industries and Bumble Bee’s previous owner Lion Capital. That deal still must be approved by the judge.
