Supervalu Wholesale Grocery Antitrust Class Action Settlement

A partial settlement worth $8.75 million has been reached in an antitrust class action lawsuit that alleged grocery wholesalers Supervalu and C&S entered into an agreement in which C&S agreed not to compete with Supervalu for wholesale grocery customers in certain states.

If you paid fees under Supervalu’s Activity Based Sell (ABS) pricing system, and if you paid ABS fees on wholesale grocery products in all four Supervalu ABS product categories purchased from Supervalu’s Champaign distribution center between Dec. 31, 2004 and Sept. 13, 2008, you may be entitled to benefits from the Supervalu class action settlement.

According to the Supervalu class action lawsuit, Supervalu and C&S entered into an unlawful agreement in which C&S allegedly agreed not to compete with Supervalu for wholesale grocery customers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Supervalu and C&S deny any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the wholesale grocery antitrust class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation. Supervalu has agreed to pay $8.75 million to settle claims from the Supervalu Champaign distribution center customers who do not have an arbitration agreement with Supervalu.

The Champaign Supervalu class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Aug. 10, 2017.

A settlement has not been reached for claims involving Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio or Wisconsin consumers that paid ABS fees on wholesale grocery products which they purchased in all four Supervalu ABS product categories from Dec. 31, 2004 through Sept. 13, 2008 directly from Supervalu’s distribution centers in Hopkins, Minn., Green Bay, Wis., or Pleasant Prairie, Wis. These claims are still proceeding as a Supervalu class action lawsuit.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Supervalu Champaign distribution center settlement include the following: “All customers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, or Wisconsin, and are located in the relevant geographic market, that paid ABS fees on wholesale grocery products in all four Supervalu ABS product categories (grocery, dairy, frozen, and general merchandise/health and beauty care) purchased directly from Supervalu’s Champaign, Illinois DC from Dec. 31, 2004 through Sept. 13, 2008, and that did not have an arbitration agreement with Supervalu during that time.”

Potential Award

Varies. The amount of payment will be determined by the Plan of Distribution and will be distributed to claimants on a pro rata basis.

Proof of Purchase

No proof of purchase required

Claim Form

SAMPLE CLAIM FORM (PDF) »

Claim Form Deadline

12/1/2017

NOTE: Claim Forms were mailed directly to Class Members on Oct. 2, 2017 and are not available online.

Case Name

In re: Wholesale Grocery Products Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 09-md-02090-ADM-TNL, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

Final Hearing

11/15/2017

Settlement Website

www.WholesaleGroceryProductsClassAction.com/settlement

Claims Administrator

Wholesale Grocery Products Antitrust Litigation
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 6878
Broomfield, CO 80021
1-844-702-7322

Class Counsel

W. Joseph Bruckner
Elizabeth R. Odette
Kristen G. Marttila
Kate M. Baxter-Kauf
LOCKRIDGE GRINDAL NAUEN PLLP

Richard B. Drubel
Matthew J. Henken
BOIES SCHILLER & FLEXNER LLP

Daniel A. Kotchen
Daniel L. Low
KOTCHEN & LOW LLP

Defense Counsel

Martin R. Lueck
K. Craig Wildfang
Stephen P. Safranski
Jeffrey S. Gleason
Geoffrey H. Kozen
ROBINS KAPLAN LLP