FOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE (USA) & CLASS ACTION CAPITAL PARTNERSHIP PORTAL
PAYMENT CARD INTERCHANGE FEE SETTLEMENT
On September 18, 2018 an agreement was reached on behalf of all merchants who accepted VISA and/or MasterCard branded credit or debit cards between January 1, 2004 through January 25, 2019. The settlement fund will be between $5.54 – $6.24 billion depending on the number of class members who exclude themselves from the settlement. On January 24, 2019, the court preliminarily approved the new settlement and in the coming months known class members are expected to be mailed notices about their legal rights, including their right to exclude themselves from participating in this settlement. Information about the settlement will also be published in a variety of media outlets. The tentative deadline for members to exclude themselves is July 23, 2019 with a fairness hearing tentatively scheduled for November 7, 2019.
While claim forms are not available yet and potential claimants do not need to sign up with a third-party service in order to participate in any monetary relief, the difficulty may be understanding what information will be provided by the defendants, how that applies to your organization, as well as what additional information can be provided to the court administrator to ensure a complete claim. No-cost assistance will be available from the court administrator and class counsel during the claim filing period. If the Court grants the settlement final approval and any appeals are resolved, the Court will approve a claim process and establish a claim deadline. Updates about the settlement can be found on the official court authorized settlement website at: https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com
CATHODE RAY TUBE (CRT) Litigation – $610,000,000
The case alleges that from 1995-2007, leading electronics manufacturers colluded to fix and maintain the cost of cathode ray tube screens and monitors, resulting in businesses and consumers paying more for computers, televisions and other products than they would have in a competitive market.
The case resulted in settlements totaling approximately $610,000,000 on behalf of all persons and businesses that indirectly purchased CRT products for their own use and not for resale (“End Users”) that purchased CRT products in Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Although these settlements also released the claims of End Users in the states of Massachusetts, Missouri and New Hampshire, End Users in these states were not permitted to participate in the prior claims processes in 2015 and 2016 for the first $576,750,000 of the settlement fund.
Class members from the states of Massachusetts, Missouri and New Hampshire were forced to release their claims but were not entitled to recover funds from the settlement funds, and appealed approval of the court’s previous settlements. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed that class members in these states were treated unfairly and should have been entitled to participate in the settlement fund.
FOOD PURCHASER CLASS ACTION LITIGATION and SETTLEMENTS
There are a number of ongoing cases pertaining to the commercial food purchaser industry. These settlements/ cases potentially represent billions of dollars in damages and stem from alleged antitrust violations.
Case 1: Broiler Chicken Antitrust Settlement (covers 98% of all consumed chicken)
Case 2: Packaged Seafood Antitrust Settlement
Case 3: Mushroom Direct Purchaser Antitrust Settlement
Case 4: Korean Ramen Noodle Settlement
Case 5: First Impressions Salon Inc. v. National Milk Producers Federation (Dairy Farms)
For more information, please visit: http://52.70.59.55/cases/foodpurchaser/
TO SIGN UP FOR CLASS ACTION CAPITAL’S CLAIM MANAGEMENT PLEASE COMPLETE THE BELOW AGREEMENT