A federal jury in Illinois has found two large egg producers and trade associations liable for conspiring to restrict supply and drive up egg prices, in a dispute the judge in the case said pitted “the nation’s egg makers against its egg breakers.”
The finding means a damages trial can be held next week.
Plaintiffs in the case are Kraft Foods Global, Kellogg’s, General Mills and Nestle USA. The defendants are Rose Acre Farms, Cal-Maine Foods, United Egg Producers and and United States Egg Marketers.
Plaintiffs alleged a conspiracy to restrict egg supply from 1999 to 2008. They are seeking more than $110 million.
In September, U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois found that plaintiffs "have met their burden and shown by a preponderance of the evidence" that a conspiracy existed involving Cal-Maine, Rose Acre Farms, USEM, UEP and other companies.
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"That conspiracy – coordinated by the trade associations and joined by their members – consisted of an agreement to restrict the national supply of eggs, thereby raising prices," the judge said.
The defendants consistently denied the claims. UEP did not immediately return a request for comment.
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