A federal judge in Vermont is considering granting preliminary approval to the partial settlement of an anti-trust lawsuit in which a national dairy processor would pay northeast dairy farmers $30 million.
But U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss says she may defer a decision on a portion of the settlement that would require Dean Foods of Dallas to change its milk-buying practices in the region for 30 months.
The agreement is to settle a civil, antitrust class-action lawsuit filed by some dairy farmers who claim that Dean Foods worked to reduce prices paid to milk producers.
Also mentioned in the original suit was the cooperative Dairy Farmers of America and its marketing arm, which oppose the settlement, claiming it favors certain farmers over others.