George Weston, Loblaw reach $500M settlement in packaged bread price-fixing class action

Update: 

• George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Companies Ltd. agreed to a $500 million settlement to end class action claims related to an alleged industry-wide price-fixing conspiracy for certain packaged bread products. 
• Lawyers for the plaintiffs announced the settlement July 25.
• The class action alleged bread retailers participated in a 14-year price fixing conspiracy leading to an artificial increase in packaged bread prices.
• The class actions lawsuits are ongoing against Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger, which the plaintiffs allege were also involved in the conspiracy. 

• The plaintiffs seek billions of dollars in damages for consumers who allegedly overpaid for bread from the companies over a 20-year window from Nov. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2021.

Bread company collusion class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Canadian bread buyers are suing eight major bread sellers: Loblaw, Weston Bakeries, Weston Foods, Canada Bread, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger.
• Why: The consumers say the manufacturers and grocery chains colluded to inflate the price of sandwich loaves and pocketed about $5 billion from the scheme over 20 years.
• Where: The lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide class of bread buyers.

(Jan. 12, 2022)

If you bought packaged bread in Canada anytime since 2001, you may have overpaid for it due to collusion between a cartel of eight major bread retailers, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Last week, an Ontario judge ruled that a class action lawsuit filed by “soft top” sandwich loaf buyers against bread sellers Loblaw, Weston Bakeries, Weston Foods, Canada Bread, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger could proceed, the Toronto Sun reports.

The plaintiffs are seeking billions of dollars of damages for consumers who overpaid for bread from the companies over a 20-year window from Nov. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2021.

The bread sellers are accused of colluding to inflate the price of sandwich loaves like Wonder Bread and lining their own pockets with about $5 billion in ill-gotten gains.

“It affects practically every Canadian who has bought packaged bread during the conspiracy period — you’re looking at 19 years or so of packaged bread sales across Canada,” David Wingfield, one of the lawyers leading the lawsuit, told the Toronto Sun. 

Justice uses Bible verse to certify class action

Meanwhile, Superior Court Justice Ed Morgan turned to the Bible in his decision to certify the class action. 

“Bread, according to the biblical Book of Prophets, is the staff of life,” he wrote. “According to the Plaintiffs, it is also key to the Defendants’ book of profits.”

A similar class action lawsuit accusing a group of Canadian bread producers and retailers of conspiring to raise the price of bread between seven and 10 cents each year was approved by a Quebec Superior Court judge in 2019.

According to CBC Canada, the companies previously faced similar price-fixing claims and issued a statement admitting that they had engaged in an antitrust scheme, and notified the Competition Bureau of the issue in 2015. 

Reportedly, Loblaw and George Weston blamed their engagement in price-fixing on specific employees who do not work for the company any more. 

Loblaw had offered $25 to compensate customers affected by the price-fixing, but a judge stated that this payment would not count towards the company’s payment of a settlement, as the company had hoped.

Will you be watching this class action lawsuit to see if you’re eligible for compensation in the future? Let us know in the comments!

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