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Canada/US: Latest charges against chocolate makers boosts US plaintiffs

By  |  June 17, 2013

As Canada announced last week that its Competition Bureau is investigating some of the largest chocolate companies in the world, Mars and Nestle, over accusations of price-fixing, plaintiffs in a similar case pending within the US are hoping to get a boost from the news. While parallel criminal charges have not been filed, and lawyers in the US case still hold the burden of proof to convince the court that the alleged collusion occurred within the country, the plaintiffs are hoping that the charges within Canada will extend to the US as well. The news broke on June 6 that the Bureau filed formal charges against the companies; it additionally announced that Hershey is expected to enter a guilty plea to the Bureau for allegations of price-fixing. Mars and Nestle, however, deny any wrongdoing and plan to defend themselves against regulators.

Full Content: Thomson Reuters

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