Granulated Sugar Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 3110
This multidistrict litigation consolidates for pretrial purposes all federal cases alleging that the defendant entities conspired to restrain trade through an agreement or understanding to artificially inflate and maintain the prices of granulated sugar at supracompetitive levels across the country. The defendants in this litigation include, but are not limited to, ASR Group International, Inc.; American Sugar Refining, Inc.; Domino Foods, Inc.; United Sugar Producers & Refiners Cooperative; Michigan Sugar Company, Cargill, Inc.; and Commodity Information, Inc.
In the federal court system, when multiple cases are pending in several different district courts that involve common questions of fact, the law provides that the Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation (“JPML”) can transfer all of the federal cases to one federal judge, if centralization will serve the convenience of the parties and the witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation for pretrial purposes.
On June 7, 2024, the JPML determined that these granulated sugar antitrust lawsuits involve common questions of fact “arising from allegations that defendants conspired to artificially increase the price of refined sugar by sharing competitively sensitive and nonpublic information regarding their refined sugar prices, capacity, and sales.” The JPML also found that “[c]entralization will eliminate duplicative discovery; prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, particularly as to class certification; and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel, and the judiciary."
To coordinate among all of the lawyers representing parties in these actions throughout the United States, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota will appoint Lead Counsel and Liaison Counsel. Please view the Contacts page for more information.