CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND CLASS ACTION CAPITAL PARTNERSHIP PORTAL

California Restaurant Association has partnered with Class Action Capital, a market leader in class action settlement claims management.  Class Action Capital is already successfully working with a very large number of state hospitality associations across the country helping to recover substantial refunds on their behalf. 

Class Action Capital specializes in the research, data collection, analysis and filing of complex class action settlement claims.  Our value is understanding the entire class action settlement landscape and bringing to your attention those settlements which are the most financially beneficial.  Our pricing model is simple in that we work on a contingency fee basis and only receive a fee as a percentage of your successful financial recovery. 

Our offer is to assist your company in recovering your pro-rata share of the settlement funds by handling all the heavy lifting.  Most companies we work with are eligible for these refunds but do not wish to pursue due to limitations on their time and resources.  Additionally, many companies’ data retention policies limit the relevant documentation they can readily gather.  Once you sign up for our claim management services, our team will immediately get to work building and preparing a comprehensive and defensible claim. 

Payment Card Antitrust Litigation $5.54 Billion 

This settlement resolves allegations that VISA, MasterCard and their issuing banks violated the law by charging excessive interchange fees to merchants.  The settlement received final approval on December 13, 2019 and the settlement fund is approximately $5.54 billion.  Your organization is likely eligible for a refund if you accepted VISA or MasterCard branded credit or debit cards as a form of payment between January 1, 2004 – January 25, 2019.

Claim forms are available beginning December 1, 2023, when they will be delivered and available online. Class members need not sign up for a third-party service in order to participate in any monetary relief. No-cost assistance is available from the Class Administrator and Class Counsel during the claims-filing period. Class members may visit www.paymentcardsettlement.com, the Court-approved website for this case for additional information. The claim filing deadline is May 31, 2024.

IN RE: BROILER CHICKEN ANTITRUST – DIRECT PURCHASER CLASS – $170,261,600 (WITH MORE EXPECTED)

This lawsuit alleges that beginning in 2008, broiler chicken producers coordinated their efforts to artificially reduce the supply of broiler chickens for sale in the United States, knowing that supply reductions would increase prices. Broiler chickens constitute approximately 98% of all chicken meat sold in the United States. The plaintiffs allege that the defendant producers, who comprise approximately 90% of the broiler chicken market and include brand names like Tyson, Perdue, and Sanderson Farms coordinated their supply reductions by sharing confidential production information with one another, closing plants, exporting hatching eggs, and destroying their breeder hens. As a result, during that time broiler chicken prices have increased by nearly 50%.

The direct purchaser class includes all businesses that purchased Broiler Chickens directly from any defendant or co-conspirator for their own use or for delivery in the United States between January 1, 2008 – December 20, 2019.

Settlements totaling $170,261,600 have been reached with defendants. We expect the settlement fund to significantly increase as more than half of the defendants are remaining as measured by market share.

IN RE: BROILER CHICKEN ANTITRUST – COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PURCHASER CLASS – $104,000,000 (WITH MORE EXPECTED)

The lawsuit alleges roughly the same facts as the direct purchaser class, but eligibility differs slightly.  The case includes all entities who purchased Broiler Chicken products from someone other than the Defendants or Co-Conspirators for commercial food preparation.

We expect this fund to grow substantially if and when other defendants settle.

IN RE: PORK ANTITRUST LITIGATION

The case, which was brought on behalf of both direct and indirect purchasers, alleges that defendants engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy through the exchange of non-public information to artificially constrict the supply of pork products in the United States which caused class members to pay artificially inflated prices.

Relying on much of the evidence uncovered in the broiler chicken case, class counsel alleges that the conspiracy also applied to the pork industry and included major manufacturers of pork, including Tyson, Perdue, and Sanderson Farms.

All entities who indirectly purchased pork from Defendants or Co- Conspirators or their respective subsidiaries or affiliates for their own business use in commercial food preparation are likely eligible for a refund.  The class period is January 1, 2009 – Present and while the settlement fund is currently $12,750,000, we expect that to grow substantially.

IN RE: CATTLE ANTITRUST LITIGATION

This case alleges that the alleged price-fixing conspiracies in the chicken and pork industries expanded to the beef industry beginning in 2015. The defendants include the leading manufacturers of beef who collectively hold more than a 70% market share, including Tyson, Cargill, National Beef Co., and JBS. The proposed classes include those who purchased beef directly or indirectly from the major beef manufacturers since 2015.

TURKEY ANTITRUST LITIGATION – SANDEE’S CATERING V. AGRI STATS, INC., ET AL.

The case alleges that Defendants and their Co-Conspirators entered into an information exchange that reduced or suppressed competition in the market for Turkey.  All commercial and industrial purchasers in the USA that purchased turkey indirectly from Defendants or entities owned/ controlled by Defendants or other producers of Turkey are likely eligible.  The class period is January 1, 2010 – January 1, 2017, and the settlement fund is approximately $4,600,000 but we expect that to grow substantially.

IN RE: PACKAGED SEAFOOD PRODUCTS ANTITRUST LITIGATION – COMMERCIAL FOOD SERVICE PRODUCT CLASS

The case alleges that the three major manufacturers of packaged tuna (Bumble Bee, Starkist and Chicken of the Sea) colluded to fix the cost of packaged tuna fish in the United States.  All entities that indirectly purchased packaged tuna products in packages of 40oz. or more that were manufactured by the defendants are likely eligible.  The class period is June 1, 2011 – December 31, 2016 and the settlement fund is approximately $6,500,000 but we expect that to grow substantially.

PAYMENT CARD ANTITRUST LITIGATION

Commercial Food Settlements