WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) -

Major U.S. egg producers are contending with a growing spate

of class action lawsuits accusing them of fixing pricesas

consumer frustration over the cost of eggs continues to simmer

after years of inflation.

The first of the new wave of cases was

roups

of

and restaurants filed the latest cases in

Wisconsin and Illinois federal courts

on Friday and Monday.

The lawsuits each target Cal-Maine Foods ( CALM ), Rose Acre Farms

and other producers. Data analytics and consulting firm Urner

Barry is a defendant in some of the cases.

The plaintiffs claim the companies coordinated on prices

through Urner Barry's pricing benchmarks and a private trading

platform. The lawsuits also

allege that egg producers used the of late 2021 as a

pretext for increases, even though flock reductions were modest

and feed and fuel costs declined.

Cal-Maine and Urner Barry did not immediately respond to

requests for comment. Rose Acre declined to comment.

The alleged price-fixing scheme ran from 2022 until March

2025, when news that the U.S. Justice Department was probing the

producers' conduct sent prices lower.

Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine, the largest U.S. egg

producer, has said it is cooperating with the Justice Department

investigation.

The new lawsuits seek class action status on behalf of

millions of commercial buyers and consumers, among other buyers.

They follow earlier lawsuits against Cal-Maine and other

companies that alleged a price-fixing conspiracy in the 2000s.

In a lawsuit related to those earlier cases, a jury in 2023

awarded food giants Kraft (KHC.O), General Mills ( GIS ) ,

Kellogg (K.N) and Nestle (NESN.S) $17.7 million in damages for

alleged overcharges during a four-year window in the mid-2000s.

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