Tuna End Purchaser Settlement: Eligibility, Payouts, and Timing

The Tuna End Purchaser Settlement is a $152.2 million class action fund for consumers who bought canned or pouched tuna (under 40 ounces) for personal use between June 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015, in one of 31 eligible states, the District of Columbia, or Guam.¹²³

Who Qualifies

You are a class member if, between June 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015, you bought canned or pouched tuna in a package smaller than 40 ounces, for your own use rather than for resale, and you lived during that period in one of the eligible jurisdictions.¹

The 31 eligible states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia and Guam are also included.¹

A few boundaries to be aware of. Tuna purchased as part of a meal kit does not count. People who previously opted out of the earlier Chicken of the Sea (COSI) settlement or the certified class are excluded. Retailers and wholesalers that bought directly from the producers were covered by a separate direct purchaser settlement, not this one.³¹

How Much You Can Expect

The settlement administrator estimates payments of roughly $0.12 per can, which works out to about $24.50 for every 200 cans a claimant reported buying during the four-year class period. Claims that would total less than $5.00 are not paid out.¹

Your final check depends on three variables: how many valid claims were filed, the total volume of tuna those claims represent, and the deductions the court approved from the fund. The court authorized attorneys’ fees of 33 percent of the total settlement, previously approved litigation costs of $4,155,027.67 plus an additional $1,618,489.24 in costs since May 2021, and $294,000 in combined service awards for the 69 individual end-payer plaintiffs who served as class representatives.¹

When Payments Arrive

JND Legal Administration, the claims administrator, is finalizing distribution calculations. Payments for approved claims are anticipated during the second quarter of 2026.³

If a check goes uncashed for 60 days after issue, the funds are subject to court-directed redistribution. If the court orders no redistribution, the money is donated to the Consumer Protection Policy Center at the University of San Diego.¹

Can You Still File a Claim?

No. The deadline to file was December 31, 2024, and it has passed. Consumers who had already filed a claim in the earlier COSI settlement did not need to file a new one for this round.¹

Where the Money Comes From

The $152.2 million fund combines three separate settlements with the companies that controlled roughly 73 percent of the U.S. shelf-stable tuna market during the class period.⁴ StarKist contributed $130 million. Chicken of the Sea’s parent, Thai Union (COSI), contributed $16.2 million, approved by the court in July 2022. The Lion Companies, Bumble Bee’s former parent, contributed $6 million. Bumble Bee itself was dismissed as a defendant after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2019.¹ All three settling defendants denied the civil allegations and agreed to settle to avoid continued litigation.³

The underlying case, In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation (Case No. 15-MD-2670), consolidated class actions filed beginning in 2015 by retailers and consumers who alleged the three producers had conspired to fix, raise, or stabilize the price of canned and pouched tuna.⁴ Judge Dana M. Sabraw presided and held the final fairness hearing on November 22, 2024, approving the StarKist and Lion settlements as fair, reasonable, and adequate.² Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP served as lead class counsel for the end purchaser plaintiffs.¹

Updating Your Address or Checking on a Claim

If you filed a claim and have moved, or you need to confirm your status before payments go out, contact JND Legal Administration by phone at 1-866-615-0977, by email at info@TunaEndPurchaserSettlement.com, or by mail at Tuna End Purchaser Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91442, Seattle, WA 98111.⁵

1
Tuna End Purchaser Settlement. FAQ
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Tuna End Purchaser Settlement. Important Dates
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Tuna End Purchaser Settlement. Home
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Courthouse News Service. Judge Grants $216 Million Settlement in Yearslong Canned Tuna Antitrust Suit
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Tuna End Purchaser Settlement. Contact