Saturday, April 19, 2014

Blake would have been able to retire after this settlement.

All of the Northern people who read this blog know my friend Blake Cosentino. Blake likes to unwind with a cocktail. And when he makes a drink, Blake prefers clear ice. I have seen Blake spend more money on ice for a party than most people spend on hors d'oeuvres. I'm not kidding. That is why Blake is the first person I thought of when I read about this class action settlement. 

In 2008, multiple class action lawsuits from around the country were consolidated into one mega case called In re Packaged Ice Antitrust Litig., No. 7-md-1952 (E.D. Mich.). The lawsuits alleged a conspiracy to raise and fix the price of ice against numerous major ice companies, including Arctic Glacier, one of the largest suppliers of ice in North America. I have read about this case before. There was direct evidence of an explicit conspiracy to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from consumers. 

The lawsuit drove Arctic Glacier into bankruptcy and, as part of their reorganization, they have allocated more than $460,000,000 to settle the class action claims. Anyone who bought at least three bags of ice from Arctic Glacier between 2001 and 2008 will be entitled to a $6.00 settlement. Anyone who bought more than 10 bags of ice during that time period will be entitled to $6.00 for the first 10 bags and an additional $.60 for each additional bag. You'll need receipts to claim more than 10 bags. Claims must be filed by June 12, 2014. Here is the website: www.arcticindirectpurchaser.com. The problem, however, is that those purchases of ice must have occurred in either AZ, CA, IA, KS, ME, MA, MI, MN, MS, NE, NV, NM, NC, TN and/or WI. 

What!!? Are you kidding me! No Illinois? And did you notice the dates? 2001-2008!! I met Blake in the fall of 2000, our first year of law school. We've been friends ever since. I know Blake keeps his receipts too. I know he could have made claim to a large portion of that 460 million dollar settlement if only Illinois was included in this class. It really could have been something. It's kind of depressing actually. Especially because I do feel partly responsible for some of those high ice bills, along with some of my unnamed co-conspirators from Old Orchard #4.  

1 comment:

Coco Love said...

I am looking for my memories through the stories, the narrative of people. I feel it is difficult but I will try.
povaup