Jul 2, 2010Lawsuits Filed Against UPGA and Others
Two class-action lawsuits alleging “price fixing conspiracy on a national and international scale” were filed against United Potato Growers of America, United Potato Growers of Idaho and 22 other affiliates in June.
The lawsuits were filed on June 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, Eastern Division, and on June 23 in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.
The complaint alleges that the defendants, “erroneously touted immunity for their price-fixing activities under the Capper-Volstead Act” and engaged in, “classic cartel behavior.”
“We are careful and diligent to ensure that we are in full compliance with the law. We are confidant that the case is not well founded and that the defendants will prevail. We view this complaint as an ill-conceived attack on our cooperative, its members and the potato industry in general,” Barb Shelley, UPGA chief communications officer, said in a statement.
“United Potato Growers of America and our member cooperatives were organized under and live by the provisions, the spirit and the intent of the Capper-Volstead Act, which provides immunity for cooperatives and their members from antitrust laws.”
