StarKist has asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling certifying a price-fixing lawsuit filed against it as a class action.
A class-action lawsuit is filed when a group of people or businesses suffer common injuries as a result of a party’s alleged conduct. At least one individual or entity acts as a representative of the group. In order for the lawsuit to proceed, a court first needs to decide if the various allegedly injured parties have enough in common to be certified as a class.
Reston, Va.-based StarKist, which is owned by South Korea’s Dongwon Industries, produces packaged tuna fish for the mass market. It is being sued by several individuals as well as grocery chains, restaurants, and caterers for allegedly fixing the price of tuna sold between 2011 and 2013 in the United States. StarKist, Bumble Bee, and three tuna industry executives entered guilty pleas to criminal conspiracy to fix prices….