Frozen-Potato Producers Must Face Most Price-Fixing Claims, Judge Rules

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Daniel in Illinois allowed the central allegations against Lamb Weston Holdings Inc., McCain Foods, J.R. Simplot Co. and Cavendish Farms Ltd. to proceed while dismissing only some claims brought under state law, according to the Cohen Milstein report. The court found that consumers had sufficiently alleged, at this stage of the litigation, a conspiracy that could violate the federal Sherman Act.

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The defendants collectively control about 98% of the frozen-potato-product market, according to the report. Consumers allege the companies exchanged competitively sensitive information and coordinated conduct that affected prices for products including hash browns, tater tots and other frozen potato goods.

Read more: Major US Potato Processors Face Price-Fixing Allegations in New Suits

The ruling keeps the core federal antitrust case alive and allows the plaintiffs to continue pursuing allegations that pricing in the market resulted from unlawful coordination rather than independent competitive decisions. The decision at this stage addresses whether the allegations are sufficiently plausible to proceed; it does not establish that the companies engaged in price fixing.

The dispute is part of In re Frozen Potato Products Antitrust Litigation. According to Cohen Milstein, indirect-purchaser plaintiffs are represented by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro.

The case focuses on conduct in a market dominated by a small group of producers, making the allegations potentially significant for purchasers of widely consumed frozen-potato products. The plaintiffs will still have to substantiate their claims as the litigation advances.

Source: mLex