Fred Meyer faces class-action suit over meat pricing

JOHN DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

Fred Meyer has been overcharging customers for meat products for more than 10 years, claims a group that last month filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. Fred Meyer officials are disputing the group's allegations.

Court documents filed in King County, Wash. Superior Court allege that the Fred Meyer chain, owned by Kroger Inc., systematically has overcharged for meat by manipulating the method by which meat is packaged and weighed.

Law firms from Seattle and Portland, Ore., filed the lawsuit Nov. 22, claiming prices for meat products at 130 Fred Meyer stores in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Idaho included the weight of the packaging materials, called the "tare value." In each of these states, it is illegal to charge consumers for the tare value of the product.

The lawsuit claims Fred Meyer has overcharged consumers "in an amount believed to be well in excess of $1,000,000 each year." It is unknown how many years the alleged practice has been going on, the lawsuit claims, and will be determined by examining Fred Meyer's records.

In statement released the day after the suit was filed, Fred Meyer officials said: "We consider honesty and integrit y to be our company's most important assets. We are committed to a 100-percent price accuracy for our customers. Fred Meyer has strict guidelines and policies in place for ensuring that the price per pound charged to customers is accurate."

In a test study, plaintiffs hired independent experts to verify their allegations.

Dr. Bradford R. Crain, professor and director of Portland State University's statistics consulting laboratory, concluded that 257 samples purchased at 30 Fred Meyer stores were under the actual disclosed weight on the label by as much as five ounces.

Of the samples tested, approximately 97 percent overcharged the consumer by an average of 16 cents per package, according to Crain.

The lawsuit claims Fred Meyer has "knowingly, systematically and for profit, illegally charged consumers for a portion of the tare value of the product."

According to the plaintiff's lawyers, the Delaware-based corporation has for years been repeatedly warned both by employees and through so-called notices of noncompliance and violation issued by governmental agencies, including the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Attorneys are asking the court to enter an order certifying the suit as class action and are also requesting Fred Meyer be made to pay "equitable restitution for overpayments made by plaintiff and class members."

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.