News

Aurora will settle suit for $7.5 million

Aurora Organic Dairy of Boulder, Colorado has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit to avoid further expenses. The company maintains no wrongdoing and says its organic certification is not in question.

The suit was filed in 2007 after USDA and Aurora signed an agreement requiring the dairy adhere to stricter organic standards including more access to pasture and better transitioning of cows from conventional herds. The plaintiffs in the suit charged Aurora was not following organic standards and therefore were misleading consumers when selling non-organic milk at organic prices.

The original claims in the suit were dismissed in 2010 after a judge ruled Aurora products were organic but the litigation over misleading consumers continued.

Aurora said it was going to cost more to continue the suit than to settle it. Under terms Aurora will pay $7.5 million which the company says will cover the fees of 60 plaintiff lawyers.

If approved by a federal court in St. Louis, consumers will be able to get $10 rebates without a receipt and up to $30 with a receipt.

Aurora has dairy farms in Colorado and Texas and has been organic since 2004.