Recent news has included a story involving the settlement of a lawsuit involving the Iowa Educators’ Consortium/Iowa Association of Educational Purchasing. The IAEP is an organization formed by the Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) under Chapter 28E of the Iowa Code, to assist member schools with the purchase of products and services that enhance their school meals programs in support of the educational goals of students.
This was a class action suit filed by a couple in the Adel-DeSoto district. The premise of their suit was that Martin Brothers conspired to restrain competition in the market for the retail sale of food to schools and that Martin Brothers attempted to monopolize that market in violation of Iowa antitrust laws.
This case has been in process for over three years as Martin Brothers was not willing to settle the case because they thought this was a totally bogus class action suit. After further consultations with their attorneys, Martin Brothers generally made a business decision to limit their legal fees and attempt to reach a settlement through mediation.
The settlement agreement was filed with the Clerk of District Court in Dallas County on July 31. Key points of the Martin Brothers settlement include:
- Martin Brothers will pay $1,925,000 to create a settlement fund which will provide monetary relief to the settlement class.
- The settlement class is anyone who paid for a school lunch between January 1, 2000, and July 31,2014.
- A third party will arrange to have notices published in an attempt to reach 88 percent of Iowa’s residents. This means that notices will be published in 14 of Iowa’s largest newspapers. The notice will direct interested persons to a website.
- Individuals in the settlement class may complete and submit paperwork to receive reimbursement. Individuals in the class may receive $3.50 for each year they attended a participating school district up to a maximum of $50.00.
- Any funds remaining after attorney’s fees and class members receive their payments will be paid to participating school districts on a pro rata basis.
Information on the settlement at the following web site http://www.iowaschoolfoodsettlement.com/.
The Iowa Association of Educational Purchasing remains committed to its mission of helping schools save money and provide students with the best meal choices.