Settlement deadline in 'potato cartel' case extended

Settlement negotiations are apparently ongoing in the federal potato price-fixing case that wholesalers, retailers and consumers filed six years ago against United Potato Growers of America and others. The judge on the case has extended the deadline for a settlement notice to April 10.

In a March 18 order, B. Lynn Winmill, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Idaho, put the case on hold until April 3 “pending the filing of settlement papers.” Court documents show the parties have been in settlement negotiations since at least October 2014.

The case, filed in 2010 by the Associated Wholesale Grocers, claims the potato growers and cooperatives are not protected by the Capper-Volstead Act of 1922, which allows agricultural producers to form cooperatives to stabilize markets and prices.