Fresh Milk Products Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
Ah price fixing. A good old business tactic that goes back to the beginning of history. Generally it happens when competitors who control a significant portion of the market work together to ensure higher prices. Apparently this happened around 2011 in the milk industry. Instead of flooding the market with cheap delicious milk, dairy producers allegedly slaughtered 500,000 cows prematurely in order to keep milk prices up.
In 2011 the Fresh Milk Products Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit was filed accusing several milk producers of using this tactic. While the defendants in the case deny any wrongdoing, a $52 million settlement has been reached.
Update 1/8/22: Well the payouts took a bit longer than expected after choosing your payout option. Our payments for $18.90 showed up late last week. You have to verify your personal details and then you get a virtual MasterCard (or gift card if you selected that option).
Updated 10/4/21: Mark just got the email offering him a few different ways to get paid out. There was a Mastercard, Target or Amazon gift card option plus a few others. He took the Amazon gift card. He was instantly emailed a confirmation and should have the gift card some time soon.
Update 9/10/21: Mark just got an email that he will get a payout between September 20th and October 14th for $7.51. So almost 5 years later he gets a free beer!
Here is how it works:
Individuals and entities who, as residents of Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wisconsin, during the period of 2003 to the present, purchased milk or other fresh milk products (including cream, half & half, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, or sour cream) for their own use and not for resale.
Since I’m pretty sure just about everyone purchased milk, most people in those states should qualify. Here is how the settlement will work:
The settlement provides for $52 million in recovery for the class. You can submit a simple online claim form opting for cash, with no proof of purchase required. If final approval is granted to the settlement, Class members who have filed valid and timely claims will receive cash payments distributed directly into an online account of their choosing. There will be two different levels of fixed cash payments, based on class member’s purchases and the total number of class members making claims. Any class member whose claim form identifies it as purchasing milk and fresh milk products in an amount that exceeds normal household purchases will receive the higher fixed amount. For example, the regular fixed amount may be $30, or it may be higher or lower depending on the numbers of all class members making claims, with the higher fixed cash payment above that amount. Any remaining funds may be distributed in a second round using grocery loyalty cards to be automatically loaded with a fixed dollar amount, based on triggering purchases of milk or fresh milk products in the relevant states, or, depending on the funds remaining, distributed to the Attorneys General for the class jurisdictions for use in prosecuting consumer antitrust claims. Under no circumstances will the money go back to the defendants.
File A Claim
This settlement has been around awhile, but I just found out about it and the deadline to file a claim is coming soon. You can find answers to more questions along with the very simply claim form on the Settlement website. The deadline to file is January 31, 2017.
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Didn’t find my email how do I get mine ?
Got my $18.90 last week.
I got my settlement in the form of Mastercard. I don’t know how to use the $7.51 settlement for a purchase.
Should work anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Big whoop, I got an Amazon gift card for $7.51 out of this!
[…] Coming in at number 10 is an article Shawn wrote about the Milk Class Action Lawsuit. Did you get in on this […]
[…] Hat tip to Miles to Memories […]
[…] Get a class action payout if you purchased milk at all in the last 13 years and you’re a resident of “Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wisconsin” […]
[…] Ever Bought Milk? Then You Might Get a Payout in this Class Action Suit! – Umm, yeah, I think I’ve bought milk once or twice in my life. Funny, the claim site is even a play on the “Got Milk?” advertising campaign. […]
Decades ago, a MO company attempted to low ball the local dairy market. In time, other dairies took that business to court and won. So all the store fronts were closed and milk sold in super markets kept going up over time. Then Aldi opened stores and sold milk cheaper then the local grocery chains.
Locally, Dean now supplies Aldi milk products and IMHO, it’s at rock bottom prices. Based on various store ads, currently milk is sold cheaper in IL and IN, compared to MO.
Funny, I filed for this one as well. Wasn’t until last year when I received a postcard in the mail informing me that my phone number was part of a class action lawsuit against CitiBank that I realized you actually do get money from joining these. Obviously it’s YMMV but color me surprised when I received a check for $357 for the Citi lawsuit. I now take these a bit more seriously and get updates from topclassactions.com and have actually found maybe half a dozen that I was eligible for over the last year or so.