Judge certifies class-action suits against Ralphs and Albertsons

A federal judge has certified two separate class-action lawsuits against grocery chains Ralphs and Albertsons — advancing a legal fight between the retailers and 9,000 workers who claim they were illegally denied millions of dollars in benefits during the 2003-04 grocery lockout and strike.

FOR THE RECORD:
Grocery lawsuit: An article in the Oct. 23 Business section about two separate class-action lawsuits being certified against grocery chains Ralphs and Albertsons said a federal judge had certified the cases. They were certified by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William F. Highberger, a judge in a state court. —

The cases — certified by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William F. Highberger this week — are challenging the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board’s decisions that resulted in workers’ not receiving unemployment benefits during the lockout.

The class-action cases allege, among other things, that the agency failed to take into account an unlawful lockout strategy.

Earlier this year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the two California food retailers violated federal antitrust laws in connection with a mutual-aid pact they used to blunt losses from the labor dispute. Under the agreement, Ralphs channeled money to Albertsons and Vons, which had suffered large drops in sales during the bitter labor action.

When the Ralphs chain — part of Kroger Co. — pleaded guilty in 2006 to felony charges connected to rehiring locked-out workers using fake Social Security numbers, it paid $20 million in fines and $50 million into a fund to reimburse workers and the union. In 2009, three former Ralphs executives were acquitted of fraud and conspiracy charges.

Albertsons, a subsidiary of Supervalu Inc., declined to comment on the pending litigation. Officials with the unemployment insurance appeals board did not return a call for comment.

Rick Icaza, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, said in a statement that the court’s move to certify the class-action cases was a step “towards holding these corporations accountable for their illegal and immoral behavior.�

But Ralphs disagreed and expressed confidence that it would prevail in the legal fight. Kendra M. Doyel, group vice president of marketing for Ralphs, said in a statement that the “procedural ruling leads us one step closer to a favorable resolution of this case.�

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