Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Walmart sues Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea for price fixing

Smaller cans, secret price lists, limiting discounts

Opening of Bumble Bee Tuna headquarters next to Petco Park in 2014
Opening of Bumble Bee Tuna headquarters next to Petco Park in 2014

A class-action lawsuit filed by retail giant Walmart accuses canned tuna's three biggest players – including San Diego's Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea – of conspiring to fix prices on "shelf stable" seafood products.

While the suit has been pending since late last year, this week it was amended, naming 56 alleged parties involved. These include a host of senior vice presidents, as well as John Signorino, former President and CEO of Chicken of the Sea, and Chris Lischewski, who occupies the same role at Bumble Bee. Starkist, a Pittsburg-based competitor, also had its CEO and President In Soo Cho listed among the accused.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The CEOs, which also include current Chicken of the Sea/Thai Union leader Shue Wing Chan, allegedly "spoke frequently" in order to "discuss pricing and customers."

According to the suit, plaintiffs claim that the defendants colluded to reduce can sizes across the industry, issue secret price lists, limit promotions and discounts, and collectively refuse to offer consumer products containing tuna without fish aggregating devices. The last practice is among those that drew criticism from environmentalists at Greenpeace in a report rating the industry last month.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that two defendants at Bumble Bee, former executives Ken Worsham and Walter Scott Cameron, had agreed to plead guilty to federal price fixing charges between 2011 and 2013, and to cooperate with investigators. The company has agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine, which could rise as high as $81.5 million, while Cameron is expected to personally be fined $25,000 and face a 10-to-16-month prison sentence. Though the offenses carry a sentence of up to 10 years, Cameron is expected to testify against other defendants in exchange for leniency.

The class action, however, accuses the canners of much more widespread corruption, dating back to "at least" the beginning of 2003, and continuing into 2015, when lawsuits against the big three began to emerge. The main suit has been split into four parts, with tracks for wholesalers, consumer purchases, restaurateurs, and those who choose to opt out of any class action settlement.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Opening of Bumble Bee Tuna headquarters next to Petco Park in 2014
Opening of Bumble Bee Tuna headquarters next to Petco Park in 2014

A class-action lawsuit filed by retail giant Walmart accuses canned tuna's three biggest players – including San Diego's Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea – of conspiring to fix prices on "shelf stable" seafood products.

While the suit has been pending since late last year, this week it was amended, naming 56 alleged parties involved. These include a host of senior vice presidents, as well as John Signorino, former President and CEO of Chicken of the Sea, and Chris Lischewski, who occupies the same role at Bumble Bee. Starkist, a Pittsburg-based competitor, also had its CEO and President In Soo Cho listed among the accused.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The CEOs, which also include current Chicken of the Sea/Thai Union leader Shue Wing Chan, allegedly "spoke frequently" in order to "discuss pricing and customers."

According to the suit, plaintiffs claim that the defendants colluded to reduce can sizes across the industry, issue secret price lists, limit promotions and discounts, and collectively refuse to offer consumer products containing tuna without fish aggregating devices. The last practice is among those that drew criticism from environmentalists at Greenpeace in a report rating the industry last month.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that two defendants at Bumble Bee, former executives Ken Worsham and Walter Scott Cameron, had agreed to plead guilty to federal price fixing charges between 2011 and 2013, and to cooperate with investigators. The company has agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine, which could rise as high as $81.5 million, while Cameron is expected to personally be fined $25,000 and face a 10-to-16-month prison sentence. Though the offenses carry a sentence of up to 10 years, Cameron is expected to testify against other defendants in exchange for leniency.

The class action, however, accuses the canners of much more widespread corruption, dating back to "at least" the beginning of 2003, and continuing into 2015, when lawsuits against the big three began to emerge. The main suit has been split into four parts, with tracks for wholesalers, consumer purchases, restaurateurs, and those who choose to opt out of any class action settlement.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Next Article

Five new golden locals

San Diego rocks the rockies
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader