Funds From ‘70s Levi Settlement Divided at Last

A legal deadlock over the fate of millions left over from a 1970s consumer settlement between California and Levi Strauss & Co. quietly ended last week, with the state releasing $4.4 million for consumer research and enforcement programs.

“It’s great to finally get this money out there after it sat for more than a decade,� said Sandra Michioku, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office.

Some $2 million will go to create a research center for consumer health issues at UC Berkeley.

Consumers will sit alongside academics and health care industry representatives on an advisory committee to determine the center’s agenda.

Another $800,000 will add two attorneys to the attorney general’s antitrust section.

The California Consumer Protection Foundation, a San Francisco-area nonprofit group that gives grants to other consumer organizations, will get $1 million.

The remainder will help the attorney general, district attorney offices and other local agencies cover the costs of consumer investigations and education projects statewide.

The disposition, approved in Superior Court in San Francisco, ended a case begun more than 20 years ago when the Federal Trade Commission accused Levi Strauss of illegally fixing prices on men’s and boys’ jeans from 1972 to 1976.

The California attorney general brought an antitrust suit against the company in 1978. The company agreed to settle the case for $12 million but did not admit wrongdoing.

About a million Californians filed claims for refunds in the early ‘80s.

But money sat, collecting interest and swelling to more than $20 million, as consumer groups and state budget wonks argued in court over who should get the cash left after the claimants were paid.

Consumer advocates wanted the money to go into a nonprofit foundation, which would distribute it for consumer protection projects. The California controller’s office said it should revert to taxpayers, via the state general fund.

Both sides can claim a partial victory--public and private groups will each get a portion of the leftover money.

“It wasn’t our first choice, but it’s a good compromise,� said Betsy Imholz, director of Consumers Union’s West Coast regional office.