SAN FRANCISCO, August 25, 2026 – Federal Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse of the Northern District of California has granted preliminary approval to the first three settlements reached by the plaintiffs in their price-fixing lawsuit, on behalf of commercial crabbers, against over a dozen ex vessel buyers of Dungeness crab in California, Washington, and Oregon.
The plaintiffs allege that buyers of Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest have engaged in an over decade-long conspiracy to suppress the prices paid to crabbers.
The settlements that were preliminarily approved yesterday were reached with three smaller buyers, who together shared 5.27% of the market during the relevant period: Pacific Dream Seafood, Inc.; Caito Seafood, Inc.; and Fisherman’s Choice, LLC. The settlements collectively provide for payment of $2.25 million and the provision of cooperation to Plaintiffs in their continued prosecution of the case against the remaining defendants. The proceeds of the settlements will be used to cover the out-of-pocket costs of that prosecution, with no portion being paid to the attorneys representing the plaintiffs and class.
In preliminarily approving the settlements, the Court noted that because the non-settling Defendants will remain liable “for the full amount of Plaintiffs’ damages based on joint and several liability[,] Plaintiffs aren’t giving much up.” On the other hand, the Court found that “Plaintiffs’ strategy of using the settlement proceeds to advance the pursuit of recoveries from the Remaining Defendants may ultimately provide a substantial benefit to Settlement Class members.” (cleaned up).
Stuart G. Gross of Gross Klein PC, whom the court appointed lead counsel for the settlement class, observed, “These settlements represent an important first step, in our efforts, to get a fair shake for the men and women who put their lives on the line to put crab on our tables. We look forward to continued success in prosecution of their claims.”
As part of the order, the court established a schedule for final approval of the settlements that includes the following:
November 6, 2026: Deadline for settlement class members to submit their intent to participate forms, objections, or requests for exclusion.
December 11, 2026: Deadline for class members who wish to address the court at the final approval hearing to submit an intent to appear.
December 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.: Hearing on final approval to be held in Courtroom A, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California.
Also appointed settlement class counsel with Mr. Gross were Matthew W. Ruan of Justice Jagher London Millen LLC and Matthew S. Weiler of Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP.
Gross Klein PC represents individuals, businesses, Indian tribes, government agencies, and non-profits in antitrust, consumer protection, environmental, business, and other complex litigation.
The lawsuit is captioned Little, et al. v. Pacific Seafood Procurement, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-01098 (N.D. Cal.).
A copy of the court’s order is available here.