Washington, DC: A $297 million settlement has been reached between plaintiffs in a multidistrict unfair business practices class action against U.S. Foodservice, Inc. and its former parent company, Koninklijke Ahold, N.V. The settlement agreement is pending approval by the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
This agreement is believed to be one of the largest civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Law (RICO) class action settlements in recent history and was reached on behalf of a class of customers, primarily hospitals and restaurants, who purchased products from U.S. Foodservice under cost-plus arrangements between 1998' 2005.
The class claimed that it was defrauded by U.S. Foodservice when it created six companies that it controlled to inflate the "cost component"of the products that were subject to the arrangement.
