Packaged seafood conspiracy update: Is StarKist able to pay $100M fine?

[TexasTowelie]

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The “inability” of StarKist Inc., to pay $100 million as proposed by the US Department of Justice has been raised in the latest court filings in the federal government’s criminal case against the owner of StarKist Samoa.

The revelation was made in separate filings on Mar. 28 by USDOJ and StarKist at the federal court in San Francisco, where the cannery will be sentenced in June this year after pleading guilty last November for participating in the packaged seafood conspiracy — to fix prices of packaged seafood sold in the United States.

The statutory maximum fine is $100 million, according to federal prosecutor Mikal J. Condon of the USDOJ’s Antitrust Division.

On Mar. 21, 2019 Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative, Inc. and Direct Purchaser Plaintiff class (or DPPs) — who are among the several plaintiffs in a civil case against StarKist and other major US canned tuna producers at the federal court in San Diego — filed a motion seeking to be heard in connection with StarKist’s evidentiary hearing pursuant to the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA).

Read more: http://www.samoanews.com/local-news/packaged-seafood-conspiracy-update-starkist-able-pay-100m-fine

[Kurt V.]

1. great find. in capitalist terms, this is called countervailing power.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Starkist will probably file for bankrupcy. Wouldn't surprise me in the least, since it seems ...

those who get slammed in the courts seem to be taking this way out of these court decisions (bankruptcy). Of course I wouldn't want the company to go under, since then no payments would be made, but something along the likes of perhaps initiating a coupon system or rebate up to $100 million would work best, but who am I to say what they'll do? Of course under rump, businesses have been getting fined less and less and Sunkist might get away with paying nothing despite its wrongdoing.