Judge orders Starkist to pay $100M fine in price-fixing scheme

SAN FRANCISCO -- StarKist Co. must pay $100 million for its role in a canned tuna price-fixing scheme, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Despite arguments it would bankrupt the company, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen denied a $50 million reduction and imposed the maximum fine, finding it has sufficient financial resources.

StarKist agreed to cooperate in the Department of Justice's ongoing antitrust investigation into the industry in addition to 13 months of probation.

The Dongwon Industries-owned company still faces millions of dollars in damages from a civil trial in the Southern District of California.

The tuna giant pled guilty last year to colluding with Bumble Bee Foods and Chicken of the Sea to fix the prices of canned tuna from 2011 to 2013. U.S. v. StarKist Co., 18-CR00513 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 18, 2018).

"Today's result demonstrates our commitment to enforcing the antitrust laws aggressively against companies that fix prices," said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division in a statement. "Hard-working Americans deserve the benefits of open competition when they spend their hard-earned money on items that stock kitchen shelves."

Chen ordered StarKist to pay $5 million within 30 days, $11 million next year and $21 million the following year for four years.

The DOJ promised to petition Chen for a reduction of the fine during the next five years if StarKist can convince federal investigators it cannot pay the remaining balance, according to court filings. But defense attorneys called the agreement an "empty promise" because it would not agree to "any specific milestones."

Bumble Bee Foods similarly pleaded guilty to felony price-fixing in 2017 but paid a $25 million fine.

Chicken of the Sea, which alerted federal prosecutors to the scheme, traded cooperation for immunity.

A host of wholesalers and retailers of canned tuna have sued the three companies.