Lawsuit: Land O'Lakes Must Pay $25 Million For Massive Egg Price-Fixing Conspiracy
By Elaine Meyer
Law360, New York (June 07, 2010) -- Land O'Lakes Inc. and two subsidiaries have agreed to pay $25 million to settle a class action alleging they were part of a long-running conspiracy between trade groups and agricultural companies to limit production of and drive up prices for eggs.
The plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
As part of the settlement, Land O'Lakes will hand over documents that the plaintiffs say will help bolster their Sherman Act claims against the remaining defendants.
Land O'Lakes, its egg supplier MoArk LLC and its egg farm Norco Ranch would pay out the $25 million to thousands of direct purchasers that since 2000 bought shell eggs and egg products that came from caged birds in the U.S.
The agreement marks the second settlement in the litigation, following one between the direct purchasers and Sparboe Cos. LLC in 2008.
The Sparboe settlement led to the company producing documents and witnesses that allowed the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint with more details about the alleged conspiracy — including dates of meetings “in which the conspiracy was hatched” and documents that show “clear intent to reduce the egg supply in the United States,” according to the motion.
The plaintiffs say that cooperation with Land O'Lakes will help fill in time gaps in the allegations, because Sparboe claims it left the conspiracy at some point during the class period.
Land O'Lakes was a party to the alleged scheme throughout the time period it took place, according to Michael Hausfeld of Hausfeld LLP, who represents the plaintiffs.
The company said in a quarterly report Monday that its earnings were down nearly $50 million — compared to the first quarter in 2009 — mainly because of the settlement.
MoArk and Norco chose to settle the case to avoid the "expense and distraction of protracted litigation," said Jeanne Forbis, a spokeswoman for Land O'Lakes.
The instant case is one of three consolidated suits that make up multidistrict litigation accusing 16 trade groups and producers of conspiring to reduce output during a time of increased demand that began in 2000, enabling them to hike the cost of eggs to record highs by 2007, reaping record profits.
Nine direct purchasers — including restaurants, retailers, distributors and food processors — serve as class representatives on behalf of all direct purchasers of both shell eggs and egg-based products produced by caged birds in the U.S., excluding specialty eggs sold under organic, free-range, cage-free and similar labels.
The remaining defendants include Ohio Fresh Eggs LLC, Hillandale Farms Inc., Michael Foods Inc., Daybreak Foods Inc., Rose Acre Farms Inc. and the United Egg Association.
In February, those companies, along with Land O'Lakes, filed separate motions to dismiss the direct purchasers' amended complaint.
In early May, most of the defendants also filed motions to dismiss claims by indirect purchasers, led by dozens of individuals across the U.S.
The case marks the first price-fixing action brought in the agricultural sector, according to Hausfeld. Agricultural companies have become subject to increased antitrust scrutiny by the federal government, but investigators have not yet brought charges, he said.
The plaintiffs are represented by Hausfeld LLP, Weinstein Kitchenoff & Asher LLC, Bernstein Liebhard LLP, Susman Godfrey LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
The defendants are represented by Eimer Stahl Klevorn & Solberg LLP.
The case is In re: Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, case number 2:08-md-02002, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
--Additional reporting by Samuel Howard and Melissa Lipman
