Hunton & Williams LLP and other law firms around the country including McNair Law Firm P.A. have reached a $297 million settlement on behalf of plaintiffs in a multidistrict class action against U.S. Foodservice, Inc. and its former parent company, Koninklijke Ahold, N.V. The settlement agreement is pending approval by the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

"This is a significant legal victory for our client Thomas & King and other similarly situated restaurateurs in the class," said Celeste T. Jones of McNair Law Firm, P.A., litigation counsel for Thomas & King, a South Carolina company. "The legal team led by Richard Wyatt of Hunton & Williams did a magnificent job in this very complex matter which involved the RICO class certification, an appeal affirming the RICO class by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and a denial of defendant's petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court."

This agreement is believed to be one of the largest civil RICO class action settlements in recent history and was reached on behalf of a class of customers, primarily hospitals and restaurants, who purchased products from U.S. Foodservice under cost-plus arrangements between 1998 and 2005. The class claimed that it was defrauded by U.S. Foodservice when it created six companies that it controlled to inflate the "cost component" of the products that were subject to the arrangement.

The parties entered into settlement talks when the United States Supreme Court declined to review a federal appeals court opinion affirming certification of a nationwide class of plaintiffs for RICO and breach of contract violations against U.S. Foodservice. Previously, U.S. Foodservice settled a similar claim made by the United States for approximately $30 million.

Lead counsel in the case was Hunton and Williams. Plaintiffs were also represented by McNair Law Firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Drubner Hartley & Hellman, LLC, Whatley Kallas, LLP, Gray and White, LLP and Foote, Mielkie, Chavez and O'Neil, LLC. U.S. Koninklijke Ahold, N.V (also known as Royal Ahold) and U.S. Foodservice were represented by White & Case LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP.

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McNair Law Firm, P.A. is a full-service law firm serving businesses, government and individuals from nine offices in South Carolina, North Carolina and Kentucky. For more information about McNair, visit www.mcnair.net.

Celeste T. Jones, Shareholder
McNair Law Firm, P.A.
1221 Main Street, Suite 1800
Columbia, SC 29201