Canned tuna buyers leading antitrust litigation over an industry wide price-fixing scheme urged the US Supreme Court to stay out of their dispute with StarKist, which had asked the justices in August to strip the long-running case of its class action status.
The retailers, restaurants, and consumers on Tuesday defended a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which held that statistical models offered by the purchasers could likely show “in one stroke” if collusion among StarKist, Bumble Bee Foods, and Chicken of the Sea led to widespread overcharges. StarKist is the only company still actively defending the case.
Related: StarKist Loses Class Action Appeal In Antitrust Case
The appeals court found in April that even if each tuna buyer’s eligibility for damages might require individual proceedings, the case’s central issues are still capable of being resolved on a class-wide basis. Two judges dissented, assailing the decision for increasing plaintiffs’ settlement leverage.
The purchasers argued in a joint brief filed with the high court that the decision applied well-settled legal concepts to a case involving “the core functions of the antitrust laws.” If those basic principles lead to uneven settlement leverage, that’s for Congress to address, not the courts, they said.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
UK Government Approves Vodafone-Hutchison Merger
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Senate Majority Leader Announces Plan for AI Regulation Framework
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
BBVA Initiates Aggressive Takeover Bid for Sabadell
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
TikTok to Label AI-Generated Content Amid Election Interference Concerns
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Italy’s Antitrust Authority Imposes Heavy Fines on Car Rental Giants
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI