A long-running lawsuit accusing Fresh Del Monte Produce of violating antitrust laws over the pricing of its Gold pineapple variety has been rejected by a federal judge in the US.
The lawsuit, which was brought on behalf of retailers such as Publix and Whole Foods Market as well as consumers who purchased the Fresh Del Monte Gold (MD-2) variety, was dismissed by US District Judge Richard Berman this week on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to conclude that Del Monte had used monopoly power to charge excessive prices and delay competitors entry into the extra sweet pineapple market.
'We are very gratified that after more than five and a half years of litigation, Judge Berman correctly concluded that there was no basis to the plaintiffs' claims that del Monte acted improperly in bringing to market and selling tis pineapple,' Carlos Sires, a partner at Del Monte representative Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, told Reuters.
The pineapple purchasers had accused Del Monte of issuing false and misleading threat letters to competitors that said its extra sweet pineapple variety was patented, and also said that Del Monte had threatened lawsuits against rivals that tried to sell the fruit.
According to The AM Law Litigation Daily, Mr Sires had told them that plaintiffs were seeking up to US$900m in damages.
However, Judge Berman said that Del Monte had a legitimate business justification for acting in a certain manner in order to deter the theft of pineapple plant material.
No comments yet