Del Monte's Allegedly Anti-competitive Conduct

Green Welling filed a class action suit on behalf of California residents who purchased "Del Monte Gold" or "Del Monte Extra Sweet" pineapples at any time from March 1, 1996 to May 6, 2003. The complaint alleges that purchasers paid supracompetitive prices for whole extra-sweet pineapples as a result of Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc.'s anticompetitive conduct. (Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. is not to be confused with Del Monte Food Company, with which it has no affiliation). Plaintiff alleges Fresh Del Monte Produce fraudulently obtained a United States patent for a pineapple variety it knew, and later admitted, was unpatentable; that it sent false and misleading letters to their competitors threatening litigation based on the cultivation and marketing of a pineapple variety for which Del Mote did not have patent rights; and engaged in sham patent litigation to suppress competition in the market for fresh whole extra-sweet pineapples.

Fresh Del Monte Produce's biggest commercial success is their sweet golden pineapples, which comprised $440 million of the company's $2 billion in annual revenue in 2002. In 1994, Del Monte improperly obtained a patent to a variety of extra-sweet pineapple, thus preventing competitors from raising and selling this type of pineapple. However, the patented pineapple (known as CO-2) was identical to the MD-2 pineapple which was earlier denied a patent by the US authorities because it was developed jointly by a trade group and had been sold in the US prior to the patent application.

After improperly obtaining its patent, Fresh Del Monte Produce sent letters to its competitors claiming proprietary rights over varieties of extra-sweet pineapples when, in fact, no such rights existed. Fresh Del Monte Produce also initiated litigation in order to prevent its competitors from entering the fresh whole extra-sweet pineapple market, charging that its two largest competitors infringed on Fresh Del Monte Produce's patent for the "Del Monte Gold" pineapple. As a result of such conduct, Fresh Del Monte Produces's competitors did not produce a competing extra-sweet pineapple. The absence of a competing pineapple in the market created a monopoly in favor of Fresh Del Monte Produce and forced consumers to pay supracompetitive prices for extra-sweet pineapples, even though Fresh Del Monte Produce later withdrew the patent after admitting it had been obtained by improper means.

If you purchased whole Del Monte Gold or Del Monte Extra Sweet pineapples, either directly from Fresh Del Monte Produce or at the grocery store, and want more information about this lawsuit, call 415-477-6700 or by clicking here.