Loblaw, George Weston settle bread price-fixing class-action lawsuits

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Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. have settled their involvement in a pair of class-action lawsuits related to an alleged industry-wide scheme to fix the price of bread.

Lawyers involved in the case say the $500 million settlement was announced last year and executed on Jan. 31, but is still subject to court approval in Ontario and Quebec.

Loblaw and George Weston are paying a combined $404 million, with the remaining $96 million accounted for through Loblaw’s gift card program announced in 2017.

The class-action lawsuits allege the defendants conspired to fix the price of packaged bread in Canada.

The lawyers say the settlement also provides access to information that will be used in continuing the cases against the remaining defendants: Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger.

Loblaw and George Weston are the only companies that have settled in the class-action lawsuits, and previously admitted their participation in the alleged scheme as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation. Canada Bread has pled guilty to four counts of price-fixing in the Competition Bureau investigation but denies participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy.