US: Judge dismisses companies’ attempts to dodge tuna suit

Multidistrict litigation alleging a widespread tuna price-fixing conspiracy will press on after a California federal judge largely rejected StarKist and other companies’ attempts to toss claims that the alleged conspiracy dated back more than a decade.

US District Judge Janis L. Sammartino last week mostly denied motions to dismiss from multiple seafood company defendants including StarKist and Bumble Bee Foods over a host of issues. Judge Sammartino called the defense motion to dismiss all claims as “implausible” and denied it. She also allowed the plaintiffs to continue the discovery process seeking more information about how non-tuna products were affected.

However, she granted the canners’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims that relied on certain state laws, asserting that they did not pertain to these lawsuits.

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