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By Suzanne Blake
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Payments have begun going out in the $152.2 million Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation settlement. Here's what happened, where we are in the process and what to expect next.
The settlement resolves claims that major tuna producers, including StarKist, DWI and the Lion companies, conspired to raise or fix the prices of packaged tuna products sold in the United States. Settlement administrators announced that they began issuing payments for approved claims on September 8.
As money reaches consumers, some recipients have reported payouts of just over $100, while others on social media say they received several thousand dollars.
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"Shoppers may have paid more at the grocery store than they should have," Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek. "These payments will be distributed from a $152.2 million fund that will be divided proportionally among approved claimants based on the amount of tuna they reported purchasing, so final checks could vary dramatically and appear to be substantially larger in some cases than the estimates consumers originally saw."
Newsweek reached out to the settlement administrators and StarKist for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The case is one of the largest consumer antitrust settlements involving packaged seafood products in recent years. The settlement fund totals $152.2 million and covers eligible consumers who purchased canned or pouched tuna products during a multi-year period.
Now that payments are being distributed, many customers are trying to understand how individual awards were determined and why payment amounts vary significantly from one person to another.
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What Is the Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation?
The litigation, formally known as Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, stems from allegations that tuna manufacturers participated in an illegal conspiracy between June 2011 and July 2015 to raise or fix packaged tuna prices at artificially high levels.
According to the settlement, plaintiffs alleged that packaged tuna producers engaged in anticompetitive conduct that harmed consumers who indirectly purchased canned or pouched tuna products. The defendants, the tuna producers, denied many of the allegations but agreed to settlements to avoid further litigation and trial risks after years of litigation and appeals.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case in November 2022 after lower-court rulings favoring class certification.
What Was the Deadline to Claim?
The deadline to file a claim was December 31, 2024.
According to the settlement administrator, consumers who had already filed a claim in the earlier COSI Settlement did not need to file an additional claim to receive payment. However, individuals who did not participate previously and failed to submit a valid claim by the deadline are not eligible to receive money from the settlement.
When Were Payments Distributed for the Settlement?
The settlement website said that payments for approved claims were issued on Tuesday.
As a result, recipients may see payments arrive through direct deposit, PayPal, Venmo, a prepaid card or a mailed check, depending on the payment method selected during the claims process.
Why Are Some People Getting $2,000 While Others Are Getting About $150?
The amount you receive from the settlement can vary dramatically, based on early customer reports online.
The settlement generally required claimants to report information about their tuna purchases. In class-action settlements like this, individuals who documented larger qualifying purchases or submitted more extensive claims may receive larger awards than those who claimed fewer purchases.
As discussion spreads on Reddit and other social media platforms, some users reported receiving payments of roughly $150 while others claim they received more than $2,000.
"These payments are not evidence they personally lost that exact amount," Beene said. "Instead, the settlement compensates an entire class for alleged market-wide issues."
What Happens Next
The claims-filing period is closed, and payments are now being distributed to approved claimants.
Individuals who submitted claims and have not yet received payment may want to monitor their email, payment account or mailbox and verify that their contact information is current with the settlement administrator.
To stay up to date with the case details, visit the Tuna End Purchaser Case Website.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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