US dairy group Dean Foods announced yesterday (27 March) that a class action antitrust suit, brought against it by retailers in Tennessee, has been dismissed. 

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee entered a judgement ordering that the Tennessee Retailer Action be dismissed in its entirety. 
According to the ruling, Dean Foods is entitled to recover the costs of the litigation from the plaintiffs, who are not entitled to any financial remuneration.

A spokesperson for Dean Foods told just-food that the litigation was initiated by a group of retailers who claimed that the company colluded to inhibit price competition for the supply of milk in Tennessee. 

“It was antitrust allegation against the company filed in 2010 and yesterday the court dismissed it,” the spokesperson said. “There were two cases in process in the state of Tennessee – one was brought on behalf of farmers and one on behalf of retailers.”

Dean Foods had previously reached a US$140m out of court settlement with the dairy farmers. In yesterday’s statement, the company added that it recently received preliminary court approval of the settlement of the Tennessee Dairy Farmer Action. 

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