Penalty Amount
$3,300,000
New York Attorney General James announced the delivery of eggs to food banks as part of a multistate settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch for price fixing. The companies illegally coordinated to manipulate the Urner Barry egg price index, artificially inflating prices. They will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks and pay $3.3 million.
The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks across 17 states, pay $3.3 million, and adopt compliance measures to prevent future illegal coordination.
In-house legal teams should review their supply and procurement agreements for clauses that reference benchmark pricing indices, such as Urner Barry, and ensure that any provisions related to bidding or price setting comply with antitrust laws. They should also verify that their vendors have robust compliance programs to prevent collusion and price manipulation. Additionally, contracts should include representations and warranties regarding compliance with antitrust regulations and may need to add audit rights to monitor vendor practices.
Entity
Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch
Industry
Other"Cal-Maine Foods (Cal-Maine), Versova/Centrum (Versova), and Hickman’s Egg Ranch (Hickman’s)"
"pay a combined $3.3 million"
"illegally coordinated to influence a daily price index for eggs"
$3.3M
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a multistate settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch for illegally coordinating to influence a daily price index for eggs, artificially inflating prices for retailers and consumers nationwide. The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks across 17 participating states, pay a combined $3.3 million, and adopt compliance measures to prevent future violations.
$3.3M
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a bipartisan multistate settlement with major egg producers Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch for illegally coordinating to influence a daily price index for eggs, artificially inflating prices for retailers and consumers nationwide. The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks across 17 participating states (including 4,968,000 eggs to New York) and pay a combined $3.3 million. The companies will also adopt compliance measures to prevent future illegal coordination. Note: This is an antitrust/price-fixing case, not a privacy enforcement action.
$3.3M
New York Attorney General James announced a multistate settlement with three major egg producers for illegally coordinating to influence a daily egg price index, artificially inflating prices for consumers. The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks and pay $3.3 million, along with adopting compliance measures.
$3.3M
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a multistate settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch for illegally coordinating to manipulate the Urner Barry egg price index, artificially inflating egg prices. The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks and pay $3.3 million, along with compliance measures.
$3.3M
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan multistate coalition, alongside the U.S. Department of Justice, settled with three major egg producers for illegally coordinating to manipulate the Urner Barry daily price index, artificially inflating egg prices for retailers and consumers. The companies will deliver 53 million eggs to food banks nationwide, including 4,968,000 eggs to New York, and pay a combined $3.3 million, along with adopting compliance measures to prevent future violations.
$25K
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning businesses not to charge unconscionably excessive prices for essential goods and services during the storm emergency. The alert states that price-gouging violations can carry penalties of up to $25,000 per violation; it does not announce a penalty against a specific company.