Canned Tuna Class Action Lawsuit Settles For $20 Million: Get Your Share

Quick Summary of the Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation

A $20 million settlement was reached for a Canned Tuna Class Action Lawsuit between class member representatives and the defendants, which consist of Tri-Union Seafoods, doing business as Chicken of the Sea International, Thai Union Group PCL (collectively known as “COSI”), StarKist Company and its parent company, Dongwon Industries Co. Ltd (collectively “StarKist”), and Bumble Bee Foods, LLC (“Bumble Bee”) and its parent company Lion Capital (Americas), Inc. (“Lion America”), for a class action lawsuit that alleges that the biggest seafood producers and processors in America purposefully and knowingly manipulated and inflated the price of their products, specifically canned tuna products.

Are you an eligible Class Member?

If you reside in one of the selected states or territories shown below and indirectly purchased canned or pouched tuna products smaller than 40 ounces from any of the Defendants between June 1st, 2011, and July 1st, 2015 (the Class Period), you are eligible to participate in the Canned Tuna Class Action Settlement and get your share of the $20 Settlement Fund.

Eligible States and U.S. Territories

States and territories included in the settlement Class are Arizona, Arkansas, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

You may be eligible to receive cash and rebates.

What does the Canned Tuna Class Action Settlement provide?

If the COSI Settlement is approved, COSI (Chicken of the Sea and Thai Union Group) will pay up to $20 million in compensation to a Fund. From this fund, only $5 million may be used by the claims administrator for notice and claims processing expenses, while the remaining $15 million will stay in the Fund and be available for distribution amongst the Settlement Class Members who submitted a valid claim and to pay litigation expenses.

How much money can you get?

Settlement Class Members are entitled to be treated equally and receive compensation on a pro-rata basis such that the Settlement Fund is exhausted. The claims administrator will not distribute any money until all remaining cases against non-settling defendants in this lawsuit have been resolved or abandoned. The estimated payment is $10.50 for every 200 cans purchased during the Class Period, which is an approximate amount considering the Class Member purchased one can of tuna per week.

The court has ruled that any COSI Settlement Class Member who gets a total payment that is less than $5 will not receive the payment and the money will be returned back to the Fund to be then distributed among the rest of the Members.

Who is the Claims Administrator?

Tuna End Purchaser Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91442
Seattle, WA 98111
[email protected]
866-615-0977

Who are the lawyers representing the Class Counsel?

The District Court has appointed Fred Taylor Isquith and Thomas H. Burt from the law firm of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP as Class Counsel on behalf of the End Payer Plaintiffs and Class Members of the Canned Tuna Class Action Settlement.

When is the Fairness Hearing?

The Court held a Fairness Hearing at 1:30 p.m. on July 15, 2022, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse, 333 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101.

Are you qualified? Submit your claim!

To receive compensation, you do not need to provide any proof. However, a valid claim form must be submitted before August 22, 2022, or printed out and mailed to the below address.

Tuna End Purchaser Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91442
Seattle, WA 98111