Pearson Warshaw, LLP is pleased to announce that it has been appointed by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois as interim co-lead counsel for the Indirect Commercial and Institutional Purchaser Plaintiffs in the ongoing Frozen Potato Antitrust Class Action Litigation.
In November 2024, Pearson Warshaw filed a major antitrust class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of frozen potato products—such as french fries, hash browns, and tater tots—alleging a conspiracy among the largest potato processors in North America. The Defendants named in the lawsuit include: Cavendish Farms, Inc.; Cavendish Farms, Ltd.; J.R. Simplot Company; Lamb Weston BSW, LLC; Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.; Lamb Weston Sales, Inc.; Lamb Weston, Inc.; McCain Foods USA, Inc.; and McCain Foods, Ltd. The complaint alleges that these leading frozen potato producers engaged in unlawful agreements and coordinated actions to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize prices, thereby violating federal antitrust laws. Plaintiffs contend that these anticompetitive practices harmed restaurants, foodservice providers, schools, hospitals, and other institutional purchasers nationwide by inflating the prices of frozen potato products.
As interim co-lead counsel, Pearson Warshaw will play a key role in directing litigation efforts, coordinating with co-counsel, and ensuring that the interests of the Indirect Commercial and Institutional Purchaser Plaintiffs are vigorously represented. The Court’s appointment underscores the firm’s extensive experience in complex antitrust and class action litigation.
Pearson Warshaw, LLP has a long history of successfully representing plaintiffs in nationwide antitrust cases involving the food and agriculture industries, and this was specifically noted in the Court’s order appointing Pearson Warshaw as co-lead counsel (ECF No. 167 at 6). Specifically, Pearson Warshaw serves as co-lead class counsel for direct purchaser plaintiffs in In re Pork Antitrust Litig., No. 0:18-cv-01776 (D. Minn.), an antitrust case alleging that the nation’s largest pork producers violated antitrust laws by limiting production and manipulating the price indices. Pearson Warshaw and co-counsel have secured $180 million in settlements in that case. Pearson Warshaw also serves as co-lead class counsel for direct purchasers in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litig., No. 1:16-cv-08637 (N.D. Ill.), an antitrust case alleging that chicken producers conspired to increase prices. Settlements there totaled $284 million.
The matter is Redner’s Markets, Inc. v. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-11801 (N.D. Ill.).