$220M Milk Price-Fixing Class Action Settlement Reached

Dairy producers recently agreed to pay $220 million to resolve claims that they intentionally reduced the number of dairy cows to increase milk costs.

Members of the National Milk Producers Federation have agreed to make gradual payments which will eventually cumulate in a $220 million settlement fund.

This fund will resolve claims they eliminated dairy cows as part of a price-fixing scheme that affected the cost of cheese, milk and other dairy products.

The plaintiffs claim they have suffered more than $1 billion in damages, but their motion for preliminary settlement approval notes that they came to the difficult decision to settle their allegations after having “lived this case for years.”

Considering the dairy producers’ “tenacious defense,” continuing with litigation through to a trial would have reportedly been fraught with risks.

The plaintiffs also note that the case has been litigated for around seven years – meaning that discovery and other motions have revealed nearly all of the relevant facts.

“As a result, class counsel possesses all the information necessary to properly evaluate the case, and, in their estimation, the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate,” the plaintiffs wrote in their dairy producers class settlement motion, adding that the deal will “ensure that class members receive a real recovery in the readily foreseeable future.”

The milk price-fixing class action lawsuit claimed that the Cooperative Working Together initiated a herd retirement program in an effort to eliminate the number of dairy cows available.

Although the program was reportedly framed as a way to help the meat industry, the dairy producers class action lawsuit claimed that it was truly an effort to suppress the supply of milk products and therefore increase prices.

According to plaintiffs in the dairy producers class action, the price-fixing scheme raised the price of milk well above the minimum price set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Based on this significant inflation, an Illinois judge ruled in October 2016 that the plaintiffs were not prohibited from bringing their antitrust claims.

The court agreed to certify a Class of consumers who purchased certain dairy products between Dec. 6, 2008 and July 31, 2013. The court also agreed to certify subclasses of consumers who purchased the products from specific members of the Cooperatives Working Together during the Class period. A website was established for these Class Members in March 2019.

Before the settlement was reached, the dairy producers class action was set to go to trial in October 2020.

Are you a member of the Class who could benefit from the recently proposed settlement? Let us know in the comment section below!

The plaintiffs and Class Members are represented by Don Barrett of Barrett Law Group PA; Dianne M. Nast of NastLaw LLC; Michael Roberts of Roberts Law Firm PA; Charles Barrett of Neal & Harwell PLC; and Linda P. Nussbaum of the Nussbaum Law Group PC.

The Milk Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit is First Impressions Salon Inc., et al. v. National Milk Producers Federation, et al., Case No. 3:13-CV-00454-NJR-SCW, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

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