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US: Cranberry antitrust lawsuit suffers setback

By  |  May 17, 2016

A federal judge has dealt a serious setback to anonymous cranberry farmers who filed a lawsuit accusing the Ocean Spray cooperative of manipulating prices.

The request to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which would allow numerous other growers to join the litigation, was denied by U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel in Boston, Mass.

While the plaintiffs can still keep their lawsuit alive, the ruling is a major blow to the case, said Maria Glover, a law professor at Georgetown University who specializes in class actions.

“There’s some wiggle room, but this is not good news for the plaintiffs,” she said.

In 2012, several cranberry farmers filed a complaint claiming that Ocean Spray violated federal antitrust law by driving down the price paid for cranberries produced by certain growers.

The plaintiffs remained anonymous due to fears of retaliation from the cooperative.

Full Content: Capital Press

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