美国一名法官裁定，针对冷冻马铃薯产品主要生产商（包括来自新不伦瑞克省的两大行业巨头）的诉讼可以继续进行。
A lawsuit against major producers of frozen potato products, including two industry giants from New Brunswick, can go ahead, a U.S. judge ruled.
这起两年前提起的集体诉讼指控，多家冷冻薯条、薯饼、炸薯块及其他马铃薯产品制造商违反反垄断法。
The class action lawsuit, launched two years ago, alleges antitrust violations by several manufacturers of frozen french fries, hash browns, tater tots and other potato products.
诉讼点名的四家公司——麦肯食品、卡文迪什农场、兰伯顿和J.R. Simplot——构成了一个“老兄网络”，控制着美国市场，并相互共享定价信息。
The four companies named in the suit — McCain Foods, Cavendish Farms, Lamb Weston and J.R. Simplot — make up a “good ol’ boys network," controlling the market in the U.S. and sharing information about pricing with each other, the suit alleges.
美国伊利诺伊州北区联邦地区法院法官杰弗里·I·卡明斯在上个月的裁决中，允许大部分指控继续审理。
In a decision last month, Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois allowed most of the claims to continue.
卡文迪什由J.D. Irving Ltd.拥有，总部设在迪耶普；麦肯总部设在弗洛伦斯维尔-布里斯托尔。兰伯顿和J.R. Simplot均总部设在爱达荷州。
Cavendish, which is owned by J.D Irving Ltd., has its head office in Dieppe and McCain has a head office in Florenceville-Bristol. Both Lamb Weston and J.R. Simplot are based in Idaho. The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by Redner’s Markets, a Pennsylvania-based grocery chain.
该诉讼由宾夕法尼亚州的连锁杂货店Redner’s Markets于2024年提起。
It alleges that starting in January 2021, the four companies raised prices at “nearly identical rates around similar times” by sharing prices with each other on a program called PotatoTrack.
诉讼指控，从2021年1月开始，这四家公司通过一个名为“PotatoTrack”的程序相互共享价格，以“几乎相同的速率、在相近的时间”提高价格。
“Because the clients of PotatoTrack were limited to the four Producer Defendants and the United States Potato Board, the PotatoTrack reports allowed each Producer Defendant to assess critical data from the three other competitors,” the lawsuit said.
诉讼称：“由于PotatoTrack的客户仅限于这四家生产商被告和美国马铃薯委员会，PotatoTrack报告使每家生产商被告都能评估另外三家竞争对手的关键数据。”
Alleged 'potato cartel' accused of conspiring to raise price of frozen fries, tater tots across U.S.
被指控的“马铃薯卡特尔”涉嫌串谋提高全美冷冻薯条、炸薯块价格。
The defendants put forward a joint motion to dismiss the complaint, but Cummings mostly denied the motion.
被告提出联合动议，请求驳回起诉，但卡明斯法官大多驳回了该动议。
The lawsuit said the four companies dominate the U.S. market for frozen potato products, controlling 98 per cent of it.
诉讼称，这四家公司主导美国冷冻马铃薯产品市场，控制着98%的市场份额。其中两家加拿大公司麦肯和卡文迪什分别控制30%和7%至8%的份额。
The two Canadian companies, McCain and Cavendish, control 30 per cent and seven to eight per cent, respectively. Any new competitors trying to enter the market would have a hard time even finding suppliers since the four major companies have long-established and exclusive relationships with potato growers, the lawsuit said.
诉讼称，任何试图进入市场的新竞争者甚至连找到供应商都会很困难，因为这四大公司与马铃薯种植者之间早已建立了排他性的长期合作关系。
The suit alleges that executives in the four companies develop close relationships through their membership in several potato organizations and their attendance at industry conferences.
诉讼指控，这四家公司的高管通过加入多个马铃薯组织以及出席行业会议，彼此建立了密切关系。
The companies are also alleged to have knowledge about each other's business practices through co-packing arrangements in which on one manufacturer outsources part of its production to another company.
诉讼还称，这些公司通过代工包装安排了解彼此的商业做法，即一家制造商将部分生产外包给另一家公司。卡明斯写道，这些公司未能提出足够充分的论据来使诉讼被驳回。
Cummings wrote that the companies didn’t make a good enough argument to have the lawsuit dismissed. “It is well-settled that the exchange of price information among competitors is indicative of anticompetitive agreement,” Cummings wrote.
卡明斯写道：“竞争者之间交换价格信息可表明存在反竞争协议，这一点已属定论。”
The four companies' control of most of the U.S. market is insufficient to prove a price-fixing agreement, but it makes it “more plausible” that it could happen, he said.
他表示，这四家公司对美国大部分市场的控制不足以证明存在价格操纵协议，但这使这种情况的发生“更加可信”。
CBC News reached out to the four companies but did not receive a response from three of them on Thursday.
加拿大广播公司新闻部联系了这四家公司，但周四未收到其中三家的回复。
A spokesperson for J.R.
J.R.辛普劳公司的一位发言人在电子邮件中表示，该公司“致力于在我们经营的所有市场中公平、诚信地竞争，并遵守适用法律”。2024年该诉讼首次提起时，麦凯恩公司在一份声明中表示，它强烈否认这些指控，并将积极为自己辩护。当时另外三家公司未回应置评请求。
Simplot said in an email that the company "is committed to competing fairly and with integrity in all markets where we operate and in compliance with applicable laws." When the lawsuit was first brought in 2024, McCain said in a statement that it strongly disputed the allegations and would vigorously defend itself. The other three companies did not respond to requests for comment at that time.