Kelley Drye Wins Class Action Price-Fixing Trial in Alaska

In a successful climax to five years of litigation, Kelley Drye won an impressive trial victory on behalf of an established Japan-based trading company. The company was one of eight co-defendants in this class-action antitrust suit that fought the case through the four month trial, which began in Anchorage, Alaska earlier this year. The jury deliberated for just five hours before returning a unanimous verdict in favor of all defendants.

The plaintiffs had alleged that the company was one of over a dozen salmon processing and importing companies that had conspired to lower the prices paid to Bristol Bay fishermen for raw” salmon they caught between 1989 and 1995. The defendants countered by arguing that burgeoning supply and shrinking demand, including increased reliance on farm-raised salmon, caused fish prices to decline at all levels and in markets around the world. The jury agreed, finding in favor of the defendants.