In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation Website
www.eggproductssettlement.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Litigation Class and Michael Foods Settlement
- What is this lawsuit about?
- Has the Court finally approved other settlements in this case?
- Who are the lawyers representing you?
- How will the lawyers be paid?
- Who is included in the Litigation Class?
- What does it mean to exclude myself from the Litigation Class?
- How do I exclude myself from the Litigation Class?
- What happens if I do nothing?
- Who is included in the MFI Settlement Class?
- What does the MFI Settlement provide?
- How will the MFI Settlement Fund be distributed?
- How do I file a Claim Form in the MFI Settlement?
- What is the difference between excluding myself from the MFI Settlement or objecting to the MFI Settlement?
- How do I exclude myself from the MFI Settlement?
- How do I object to the proposed MFI Settlement?
- What happens if I do nothing?
- What is the effect of the Court’s final approval of the MFI Settlement?
- When is the final Fairness Hearing?
1. What is this lawsuit about?
Plaintiffs allege that Defendants conspired to decrease the supply of eggs which caused the price of eggs to artificially increase and direct purchasers to pay more for Shell Eggs and Egg Products than they would have otherwise paid. This lawsuit alleges injuries to direct egg purchasers only, that is, entities or individuals who bought eggs directly from Defendants. A separate case is pending wherein the plaintiffs allege a conspiracy to fix egg prices that injured indirect egg purchasers. An indirect egg purchaser buys eggs from a direct purchaser of eggs (such as a retailer or distributor) or another indirect purchaser.
Defendants have denied all liability for this conduct and asserted that their conduct was lawful and/or exempt from the antitrust laws, among other defenses. On 9/18/2015 (as amended 11/12/2015), the Court certified a Litigation Class of all individuals and entities that purchased Shell Eggs (but not Egg Products) in the United States directly from Defendants. On 2/2/2016, the Court defined the Litigation Class Period as 9/24/2004 through 12/31/2008.
2. Has the Court finally approved other settlements in this case?
Yes. The Court has previously granted final approval to the following settlements:
Sparboe Settlement—Plaintiffs settled with Defendant Sparboe Farms Inc. for cooperation that substantially assisted Plaintiffs in prosecuting the claims in this Action.
Moark Settlement—Plaintiffs settled with Defendant Sparboe Farms Inc. for cooperation that substantially assisted Plaintiffs in prosecuting the claims in this Action.
Cal-Maine Settlement—Plaintiffs settled with Defendant Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. for $28 million and cooperation. The submission deadline for claims in this settlement has passed and funds will be distributed in the coming months.
NFC Settlement—Plaintiffs settled with NFC for $1 million and cooperation.
Midwest Settlement—Plaintiffs settled with Midwest for $2.5 million and cooperation.
UEP/USEM Settlement—Plaintiffs settled with Defendants UEP and USEM for $500,000 and cooperation.
NuCal Settlement—Plaintiffs and NuCal settled for $1,425,000 and cooperation
Hillandale Settlement—Plaintiffs and Defendants Hillandale Pa. and Hillandale-Gettysburg settled for $3 million and cooperation.
The Defendants remaining in this case are: Rose Acre Farms, Inc.; Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC; & R.W. Sauder, Inc. (collectively, “Non-Settling Defendants”).
3. Who are the lawyers representing you?
The Court appointed the following lawyers to represent the Litigation Class and the Michael Foods, Inc. (“MFI”) Settlement Class:
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Mindee J. Reuben Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC 1835 Market Street , Suite 2700 Philadelphia, PA 19103 |
Michael D. Hausfeld HAUSFELD LLP 1700 K Street NW, Suite 650 Washington, DC 20006 |
Stanley D. Bernstein BERNSTEIN LIEBHARD LLP 10 East 40th Street, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10016 |
Stephen D. Susman SUSMAN GODFREY LLP 560 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor New York, NY 10022-6828 |
These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense. You are not personally responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees or expenses for Class Counsel.
4. How will the lawyers be paid?
On November 17, 2017, the Court awarded Class Counsel $24,750,000 in attorneys’ fees and $2,613,674.80 for reimbursement of litigation and individual firm expenses from the MFI Settlement Fund. The documents relating to the Fee Petition and Order awarding fees and expenses are available on the Court Documents Tab.
5. Who is included in the Litigation Class?
You are a member of the Litigation Class certified by the Court if you fit the following definition: All individuals and entities that purchased Shell Eggs from caged birds in the United States directly from Defendants during the Class Period from 9/24/2004 through 12/31/2008.
Excluded from the Class are Defendants, their co-conspirators, and their respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as any government entities. Also excluded from the Class are purchases of “specialty” shell eggs (such as “organic,” “certified organic,” “free range,” “cage free,” “nutritionally enhanced,” or “vegetarian fed”) and purchases of hatching eggs, which are used by poultry breeders to produce breeder stock or growing stock for laying hens or meat.
Persons or entities that fall within the definition of the Litigation Class and do not exclude themselves will be bound by the results of this litigation.
6. What does it mean to exclude myself from the Litigation Class?
The deadline to exclude yourself from the Litigation Class has passed.
7. How do I exclude myself from the Litigation Class?
The deadline to exclude from the Litigation Class was October 9, 2017.
8. What happens if I do nothing?
If you did nothing, you will remain a member of the Litigation Class. As a member of Litigation Class, you will be represented by Class Counsel, and you will not be charged out-of-pocket fees or expenses for the services of such counsel and any other class counsel. Rather, counsel will be paid, if at all, as allowed by the Court from some portion of whatever money they may ultimately recover for you and other members of the Litigation Class. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
9. Who is included in the MFI Settlement Class?
You are a member of MFI Settlement Class if you fit the following definition: All individuals and entities that purchased Shell Eggs (shell eggs from caged birds) in the United States directly from Defendants during the Class Period from 9/24/2004 through 12/31/2008.
Excluded from the Class are Defendants, their co-conspirators, and their respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as any government entities. Also excluded from the Class are purchases of “specialty” shell eggs (such as “organic,” “certified organic,” “free range,” “cage free,” “nutritionally enhanced,” or “vegetarian fed”) and purchasers of hatching eggs, which are used by poultry breeders to produce breeder stock or growing stock for laying hens or meat.
Persons or entities that fall within the MFI Settlement Class and do not exclude themselves from that Settlement will be bound by the terms of the Settlement and its release.
10. What does the MFI Settlement provide?
After engaging in settlement discussions both formally and informally, Plaintiffs and MFI reached a Settlement on December 8, 2016. The MFI settlement is between Plaintiffs and MFI only; it does not affect any of the Non-Settling Defendants against whom this case continues. Pursuant to the terms of the MFI Settlement, Plaintiffs will release MFI from all pending claims. In exchange, MFI has agreed to pay $75 million into a settlement fund to compensate Class Members, and to cooperate with Plaintiffs prior to and at the time of trial of the claims against the Non-Settling Defendants.
The full text of the MFI Settlement Agreement is available on the Court Documents Tab.
On June 26, 2017, the Court granted preliminary approval of the MFI Settlement, finding it sufficiently fair, reasonable, and adequate to warrant notifying the Settlement Class. On November 17, 2017, the Court provided an Order granting final approval of the MFI Settlement determining that the settlement agreement was fair, reasonable, and adequate.
The MFI Settlement should not be taken as an admission by MFI of any allegation by Plaintiffs or wrongdoing of any kind. Finally, the Court ordered that Plaintiffs shall provide notice of the MFI Settlement to all members of the Settlement Class who can be identified through reasonable effort.
11. How will the MFI Settlement Fund be distributed?
MFI Settlement Funds were distributed to eligible Class Members that submitted timely and valid Claim Forms in March 2021.
12. How do I file a Claim Form in the MFI Settlement?
The deadline to submit a Claim Form was October 9, 2017.
If you excluded yourself from the MFI Settlement, you will not receive any benefits from it and you cannot object to it.
- If you wanted to sue MFI, on your own, about the legal issues in this case, then you must have excluded yourself from the settlement with MFI. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up any right to sue MFI for the claims that the proposed MFI Settlement resolves.
- If you have a pending lawsuit against MFI involving the same legal issues in this case, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately. You must have excluded yourself from the Litigation Class in order to continue your own lawsuit against MFI. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up any right to sue MFI for the claims that the proposed MFI Settlement resolves.
Objecting to the MFI Settlement: The deadline to object to any part of the MFI Settlement was October 9, 2017.
14. How do I exclude myself from the MFI Settlement Class?
The deadline to exclude from the MFI Settlement Class was October 9, 2017.
15. How do I object to the proposed MFI Settlement?
The deadline to object to any part of the MFI Settlement was October 9, 2017.
16. What happens if I do nothing?
If you did nothing, you are a member of the MFI Settlement Class. As a member of MFI Settlement Class, you will be represented by Class Counsel, and you will not be charged fees or expenses for the services of such counsel and any other class counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
17. What is the effect of the Court’s final approval of the MFI Settlement?
The Court granted final approval of the MFI Settlement on November 17, 2017. If you did not exclude yourself from it, the MFI Settlement is binding upon you and all other members of the Settlement Class. By remaining a part of the MFI Settlement, you gave up any claims against MFI relating to the claims made or which could have been made in this lawsuit. By remaining a part of the Settlement, you will retain all claims against all other remaining Defendants, named and unnamed.
18. When is the final Fairness Hearing?
The Fairness Hearing was held on November 6, 2017.