Seafood giant StarKist, its parent Dongwon Industries and private equity firm Lion Capital, owner of Bumble Bee Foods, have agreed to pay $200 million to settle U.S. class actions claiming they overcharged consumers and other purchasers of packaged tuna.
Sabraw will consider the proposed settlements at a hearing on Aug. 23. The defendants have all denied any wrongdoing in the antitrust cases, which were first filed in 2015.
Reston, Virginia-based StarKist, which makes StarKist Tuna, in a statement said it was "glad to resolve these matters, and move forward with a new and positive chapter" for the company.
Lion, based in the UK, and its lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mark Rifkin, an attorney for the consumers, said the "settlement will get meaningful cash benefits to consumers across the country."
The consumer class has more than 100 million members who bought cans of tuna between 2011 and 2015.
The deals resolve long-running claims over price-fixing in the packaged tuna market. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 turned down StarKist’s appeal of a decision granting class action status in the cases.
The civil price-fixing litigation came after criminal prosecutions of packaged tuna suppliers, including StarKist and Bumble Bee. Federal prosecutors claimed a price-fixing conspiracy affected more than $600 million in canned tuna sales for years.
Bumble Bee in 2017 and StarKist a year later pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy to violate federal antitrust laws.
The consumer class earlier reached a $16 million deal with Chicken of the Sea and its parent Thai Union Group, pushing the total recovery to $152.2 million.
The consumers’ lawyers said they would seek up to 33% of the fund for legal fees, or about $50.7 million.
A trial was set for July in the consumers' case, which had estimated $224 million in damages, court records show.
In Re: Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, No. 3:15-md-02670-DMS-MSB.
Read more:
U.S. Supreme Court rejects StarKist's tuna price-fixing class action appeal
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Private equity firm Lion Capital loses bid to end tuna price-fixing lawsuit
En banc 9th Circuit takes up certification of classes with uninjured plaintiffs
