Mesquite Charcoal Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit Settled for $2.4M

Several charcoal providers have agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging they conspired to allocate customers and not compete for sales of mesquite charcoal for 11 years. Mesquite lump charcoal is harvested in Mexico, and it is commonly used in the restaurant industry for grilling meat, poultry and fish.

On Friday, plaintiffs Il Fornaio (America) Corporation, Oliveto Partners Ltd and the Famous Enterprise Fish Company filed a motion seeking preliminary approval of the proposed mesquite charcoal class action settlement. These plaintiffs are restaurants that purchased mesquite lump charcoal directly from the defendants during the alleged conspiracy period.

According to the class action settlement documents, defendants California Charcoal and Firewood Inc. and Lazzari Fuel Company LLC agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve the allegations. Co-defendant Chef’s Choice Mesquite Charcoal and its owner will continue to litigate the class action lawsuit. However, Lazzari and California Charcoal have agreed to assist in their prosecution.

The class action settlement documents indicate that Chef’s Choice owner, William Lord, pleaded guilty to criminal antitrust charges and admitted that he and his company had an agreement with Lazzari and California Charcoal to not compete for sales of mesquite charcoal and to communicate about bid prices before submitting non-competitive bids to the co-conspirators’ customers.

Under the terms of the proposed class action settlement, California Charcoal and Firewood and its owner, Marvin Ring, will pay $1.55 into a settlement fund. Lazzari will pay $825,000 to escape the litigation. A Class of persons who purchased mesquite lump charcoal directly from the defendants was certified earlier this month.

According to the plaintiff’s motion, the $2.4 million class action settlement amount represents about 29 percent of the potential damages that were estimated by an economist during the Class certification phase of the litigation.

“Plaintiffs believe the Settlement approaches the maximum they realistically could obtain from these Settling Defendants, is fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the Class, and therefore warrants preliminary court approval,” the plaintiffs say in support of the mesquite charcoal class action settlement.

Further information about the mesquite charcoal class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Elizabeth C. Pritzker and Bethany Caracuzzo of Pritzker Levine LLP.

The Mesquite Charcoal Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is Il Fornaio (America) Corp., et al. v. Lazzari Fuel Company LLC, et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-05197, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.