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A 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 has been approved by a Quebec Superior Court judge.
The bread price-fixing class action lawsuit was filed by Karim Renno in October 2017 over claims that Canadians had to pay more for bread than they otherwise would have because multiple companies engaged in price-fixing.
Renno is asking the court to require the bread manufacturers and retailers to pay an amount equal to the profits they made from the “artificially inflated portion of the price of the pre-packed bread sold in Quebec.”
In other words, Renno is not seeking a disgorgement from all profits gained from the bread, but only the portion that is more than what customers would have otherwise paid, in addition to interest.
He seeks to represent himself and all other people in the Canadian province who purchased one or more packaged bread loaf between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 19, 2019.
Renno’s Canadian bread price-fixing class action lawsuit estimates that the damages could be in the billions of dollars, if the companies are found liable.
The class action lawsuit alleges that the companies engaged in the price-fixing scam include Loblaw Cos. LTD, George Weston LTD, Metro INC, Sobeys Quebec INC, Walmart Canada Corp., Canada Bread Company LTD, and the Giant Tiger chain.
Allegedly, the price of bread rose from by at least $1.50 from 2001 to 2017.
Renno even claims that Loblaw and George Weston already admitted to fixing prices for bread for more than 10 years.
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 blames 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.
The Huffington Post explains that Canadian federal law grants companies immunity from criminal charges if they admit wrongdoing in a price-fixing issue and agree to cooperate with the Competition Bureau. However, they still may face civil charges, despite immunity to criminal ones.
However, other defendants are still denying the claims, including Sobeys. Sobeys’ director of communications, Jason Patuano, reportedly told the Huffington Post that they “have seen absolutely no indication that Sobeys contravened competition law.”
Giant Tiger also said that the company did not believe that employees or the whole company violated the Competition Act, as Renno has claimed.
According to the plaintiff, multiple email exchanges between the companies provide evidence that the bread sellers worked together to set and raise the price of bread.
Have you noticed a price increase in bread over the last few years? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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24 thoughts onCourt Authorizes Canada Bread Price-Fixing Class Action
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Bread purchaser affected. I would like to be added to the claimant list.
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Add me please