Northeastern Dairy Settlement
5:09-cv-00230 US District Court, District of Vermont
Overview
The Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit against Defendants, Dean Foods Co. (“Dean”), Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (“DFA”), Dairy Marketing Services, LLC (“DMS”). The lawsuit claims that Defendants violated federal antitrust law by engaging in anticompetitive conduct in the purchase and sale of raw Grade A milk in Order 1 and that, as a result, the prices paid to dairy farmers in Order 1 for raw Grade A milk were lower than they would otherwise have been.
Class
The Dean Settlement Class includes all dairy farmers, whether individuals, entities, or members of cooperatives, who produced raw Grade A milk in Federal Milk Order 1 AND pooled raw Grade A milk on Federal Milk Order 1 during any time from January 1, 2002 to May 23, 2011. This includes Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
Defendants
- Dean Foods Co.
- Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
- Dairy Marketing Services, LLC
Settlement
A $30 million Settlement with Dean has been reached. The Settlement provides a financial payment to certain dairy farmers in the Northeast who are members of the Dean Settlement Class. Dean denies that it did anything wrong. The other Defendants have also denied that they did anything wrong. The Court has not yet heard or resolved the merits of the Plaintiffs’ claims, or determined whether the Plaintiffs’ or Defendants’ claims are true.
Filing Deadline: Contact SRG
Settlement Recovery Group, LLC (“SRG”) is not the official claims administrator, class counsel or any party in the case. SRG is a third party claims filing service that can be hired to file and track claims. We specialize in helping companies and small businesses file claims to obtain their fair share of settlement money from class action lawsuits once a settlement has been reached. Our services are voluntary and are not required to file a claim; claimants may file a no-cost claim on their own. This summary is for informational purposes only and is based on SRG’s review of publicly available case documents. Official information can be found on the case website and on the court docket. This summary is not and should not be construed as legal, tax, or other professional advice.
Processed Egg Products Antitrust Settlement
2:08-md-02002 US District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Overview
Certain producers of Shell Eggs and Egg Products have been accused of conspiring to limit, fix or maintain the price of eggs, which caused direct purchasers to pay more for eggs and egg products. The term “eggs” refers to both Shell Eggs and Egg Products, which are eggs removed from their shells for further processing into a dried, frozen, or liquid form.
Class
Any person or entity in the United States that purchased eggs, including shell eggs and egg products, produced from caged birds in the United States directly from any producer during the Class Period from January 1, 2000 through December 19th, 2014.
Shell Egg Subclass
Individuals and entities in the United States that purchased shell eggs produced from caged birds in the United States directly from any producer during the Class Period from MFI Settlement Class Shell Eggs Defendants 09/24/2004 – 12/31/2008.
Egg Products Subclass
Individuals and entities in the United States that purchased egg products produced from shell eggs that came from caged birds in the United States directly from any producer during the Class Period 01/01/2000 – 12/19/2014.
Excluded from the subclasses are those that purchased only:
- “Specialty” Shell Eggs: certified organic, nutritionally enhanced, cage-free, free-range, and vegetarian-fed
- “Hatching” Shell Eggs: used by poultry breeders to produce stock for laying hens or meat
Defendants
- Cal-Maine
- Daybreak Foods, Inc.
- Foods, Inc.
- Hillandale
- Land O’Lakes, Inc.
- MFI
- Midwest
- Moark, LLC
- NFC
- Norco Ranch, Inc.
- Nucal
- Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC
- Rose Acre Farms, Inc.
- R.W. Sauder, Inc.
- Sparboe Farms Inc
- UEP/USEM
Partial Settlements |
|
|---|---|
| Midwest | $2,500,000 |
| NFC | $1,000,000 |
| UEP/USEM | $500,000 |
| Nucal | $1,425,000 |
| Hillandale | $3,000,000 |
| Michael Foods | $75,000,000 |
Filing Deadline: Contact SRG
Settlement Recovery Group, LLC (“SRG”) is not the official claims administrator, class counsel or any party in the case. SRG is a third party claims filing service that can be hired to file and track claims. We specialize in helping companies and small businesses file claims to obtain their fair share of settlement money from class action lawsuits once a settlement has been reached. Our services are voluntary and are not required to file a claim; claimants may file a no-cost claim on their own. This summary is for informational purposes only and is based on SRG’s review of publicly available case documents. Official information can be found on the case website and on the court docket. This summary is not and should not be construed as legal, tax, or other professional advice.
Southeast Dairy Settlement
2:08-md-01000 US District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
Overview
The lawsuit claims that Defendants and their Co-Conspirators unlawfully agreed and conspired to monopolize, to fix prices at suppressed levels, and to eliminate competition for the marketing, sale, and purchase of raw Grade A milk in Federal Milk Market Orders 5 and 7 (“Southeast”). This includes Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and parts of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The lawsuit claims that Defendants and their Co-Conspirators unlawfully agreed and conspired to monopolize, to fix prices at suppressed levels, and to eliminate competition for the marketing, sale, and purchase of raw Grade A milk in Federal Milk Market Orders 5 and 7 (“Southeast”). This includes Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and parts of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Class
You are a member of the Class if your farm produced Grade A milk within Orders 5 or 7 and sold that milk directly or through an agent to Defendants or alleged Co-Conspirators in Orders 5 and/or 7 any time from January 1, 2001 to the present.
Current Defendants
- Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
- Dairy Marketing Services, LLC
- Dean Foods Co.
- Gary Hanman
- Gerald Bos
- James Baird
- Mid-Am Capital LLC
- National Dairy Holdings LP
- Southern Marketing Agency, Inc.
Current Co-Conspirators
- Allen A. Meyer
- Dairy.Com, Inc.
- Gregg L. Engles
- Herman Brubaker
- Jay Bryant
- Michael J. McCloskey
- Pete Schenkel
- Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
- Robert W. Allen
- The Kroger Co.
Partial Settlements: $145,000,000
Dean Foods has agreed to pay a total of $140 Million over four or five years into a fund that would be distributed to dairy farmers involved in the class action lawsuit. Southern Marketing Agency and James Baird have agreed to pay an additional $5 million into a settlement fund.
Filing Deadline: Contact SRG
Settlement Recovery Group, LLC (“SRG”) is not the official claims administrator, class counsel or any party in the case. SRG is a third party claims filing service that can be hired to file and track claims. We specialize in helping companies and small businesses file claims to obtain their fair share of settlement money from class action lawsuits once a settlement has been reached. Our services are voluntary and are not required to file a claim; claimants may file a no-cost claim on their own. This summary is for informational purposes only and is based on SRG’s review of publicly available case documents. Official information can be found on the case website and on the court docket. This summary is not and should not be construed as legal, tax, or other professional advice.
US Foodservice Direct Purchaser Settlement
3:07-md-01894 US District Court Connecticut
Overview
Plaintiffs allege that defendants illegally conspired to inflate prices charged for their food products through a network of Value Added Service Providers, or VASPs. These companies bought food and sold it to US Foodservice Inc., who in turn sold it to their end customers under a “cost-plus” billing arrangement. A cost plus billing arrangement is where end customers agree to pay the suppliers cost, plus a fixed additional percentage. Plaintiffs state that the VASPs were actually wholly controlled by US Foodservice Inc., for the sole purpose of falsely inflating costs for selected food items. These inflated costs were invoiced to US Foodservice Inc., who in turn charged them to end customers in addition to any additional previously agreed upon additional percentage.
Class
Any person or entity that purchased products from United Food Service under a “cost plus”
(a cost component plus and agreed upon markup) and for which United Food Service used a Value Added Service Provider (VASP) to calculate the cost component any time from
1998-2005. The alleged VASP’s that are a part of this settlement are:
- Seafood Marketing Specialists Inc.
- Frozen Farms Inc.
- Produce Solutions Inc. aka Cross Valley Produce Inc.
- Private Labels Distribution Inc., aka Private Brands Distribution Inc.
- Specialty Supply & Marketing Inc.
- Commodity Management Systems Inc.
Settlement: $297,000,000
Filing Deadline: Contact SRG
Settlement Recovery Group, LLC (“SRG”) is not the official claims administrator, class counsel or any party in the case. SRG is a third party claims filing service that can be hired to file and track claims. We specialize in helping companies and small businesses file claims to obtain their fair share of settlement money from class action lawsuits once a settlement has been reached. Our services are voluntary and are not required to file a claim; claimants may file a no-cost claim on their own. This summary is for informational purposes only and is based on SRG’s review of publicly available case documents. Official information can be found on the case website and on the court docket. This summary is not and should not be construed as legal, tax, or other professional advice.
