Judge halts class action but allows snack pricing lawsuit to continue.
A federal judge in California has blocked a group of convenience store owners from moving forward with a proposed class action lawsuit against PepsiCo and its snack division, Frito-Lay, over claims of unfair pricing practices. The ruling stops the case from being handled as a class action for now, though it allows the individual lawsuit to continue and gives the plaintiffs the option to revise and try again.
The lawsuit was brought by independently owned convenience stores in California that alleged PepsiCo and Frito-Lay charged them higher wholesale prices than large national chains for the same snack products. According to the stores, this pricing gap placed small retailers at a disadvantage, making it harder for them to compete and leading to major losses in snack sales over time. The case relied on the Robinson-Patman Act, a federal antitrust law that bans certain forms of price discrimination between buyers.
U.S. District Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani ruled that the plaintiffs did not meet the legal standard required to bring the case as a class action. Under federal law, proposed class members must show that they were harmed in the same way. The judge found that the stores failed to do this because pricing differences would need to be reviewed on a store-by-store and transaction-by-transaction basis. She pointed to past court decisions that found price discrimination cases often depend on detailed proof unique to each buyer.
In her decision, the judge explained that wholesale pricing can vary for many reasons, including volume, location, delivery costs, promotions, and contract terms. Because of these differences, the court said it would be necessary to examine thousands of individual sales records to determine whether price discrimination occurred. This level of detail made it unsuitable for a single, broad class action, according to the ruling.
While the decision was a setback for the convenience store owners, the case itself was not thrown out. The judge allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint and attempt to correct the issues with their class action claims. This means the stores can revise their arguments and try to show common harm across the group. Class actions are often pursued because they allow many smaller claims to be handled together, lowering costs and increasing potential recoveries.
PepsiCo and Frito-Lay argued that allowing the case to proceed as a class action would create confusion and slow down the court process. They told the judge that the claims would require thousands of separate reviews into each store’s pricing history, contracts, and purchasing patterns. According to the companies, this level of review would defeat the purpose of a class action and make the case harder to manage.
The companies did not issue public comments after the ruling. Attorneys representing the convenience store owners said they plan to file an amended lawsuit. They stated that the revised filing will outline several ways they believe Frito-Lay treated independent stores differently while offering better pricing terms to national chains. The plaintiffs maintain that these practices caused small stores to lose tens of millions of dollars in snack sales across California.
The outcome highlights the challenges small businesses face when bringing large antitrust cases against major corporations. While the Robinson-Patman Act remains on the books, courts have often required very detailed proof to show illegal price discrimination. This standard can make it difficult for groups of smaller buyers to band together unless they can clearly show shared harm under similar circumstances.
The case will continue in federal court as an individual lawsuit unless a revised class action claim is approved. The ruling does not determine whether PepsiCo or Frito-Lay violated antitrust law, only that the current class claims did not meet federal requirements. Future filings may test whether the plaintiffs can overcome that hurdle and move the case forward on a broader scale.
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PepsiCo, Frito-Lay win US court order barring class action in snack pricing lawsuit
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