ROCKLAND (AP) – Blueberry processors facing a potential $60 million award to growers in a class-action lawsuit have asked the judge to set aside the verdict in the two-week trial.

Attorneys for Jasper Wyman & Son of Milbridge, Cherryfield Foods Inc. and Allen’s Blueberry Freezer Inc. of Ellsworth filed the motion Monday in Knox County Superior Court.

The processors said jurors were “improperly instructed as to the nature and quantity of evidence required to prove the existence of a price-fixing conspiracy.”

The attorneys asked Justice Joseph Jabar either to set aside the verdict and enter judgment in the processors’ favor, or alternatively, to grant a new trial.

Attorneys for the more than 500 growers involved in the lawsuit have 21 days to file their response to the processors’ motion to vacate the verdict.

If the motion is denied, the processors will consider appealing the case to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

“The main thrust is that the jury didn’t understand, or wasn’t instructed, that there has to be certain evidence that allows you to infer that there is an agreement (for price fixing),” said attorney James Kilbreth, who represented Wyman’s.

Company officials maintain that they did not engage in price fixing during the 1996 to 1999 seasons, the four years for which growers asked for money due them in place of the low prices they received.

The officials have acknowledged, both in court and since the decision, that they engage in price matching, a competitive practice which is legal.

The jury last month concluded that the processors illegally conspired to fix prices, costing growers $18.68 million over the four years.

With triple damages and attorney fees, the total potential award to growers would exceed $60 million, according to William Robitzek, the Lewiston attorney who represented growers.

AP-ES-12-02-03 0216EST



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