There’s no egg-scuse: N.Y. Attorney General James sues egg company over price gouging

ALBANY — State Attorney General Letitia James believes something is rotten at one of the nation’s largest egg producers.

James’ office announced a lawsuit Tuesday alleging Hillandale Farms ran a-fowl of the law during the height of the pandemic by charging New York customers up to four times precoronavirus prices for a carton of eggs.

The Ohio- and Pennsylvania-based company jacked up prices on more than 4 million cartons of eggs sold to grocery store chains, military facilities and wholesalers in the state throughout March and April, according to court documents.

“As this pandemic ravaged our country, Hillandale exploited hardworking New Yorkers to line its own pockets,” James said. “In less than two months, Hillandale made millions by cheating our most vulnerable communities and our service members, actions that are both unlawful and truly rotten. I will always stand up for working people, especially when they are taken advantage of by corporate greed.”

According to James’ office, Hillandale charged Western Beef supermarkets prices ranging from 59 cents to $1.10 for a dozen large white eggs back in January.

On March 15, Hillandale raised that price to $1.49.

As the pandemic worsened in the Empire State, the company raised the prices it charged Western Beef repeatedly, eventually reaching $2.93 a dozen — almost five times the price charged earlier in the year.

The suit alleges that Hillandale similarly raised its prices on eggs sold to Stop & Shop, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Associated Supermarkets and the commissary stores at U.S. military bases at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and upstate Fort Drum.

Eggs sold to the commissary store at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point jumped from 84 cents in January to $3.15 a carton, according to the suit.

Advocates applauded the attorney general, who previously filed a lawsuit against a Long Island company for price-gouging cleaning products during the COVID-19 crisis, for taking action against Hillandale.

“It’s bad enough that hunger is soaring in New York because of the collapse of the economy and the closure of school meals programs, but it is even worse when food companies increase hunger by using a national crisis to astronomically raises prices through illegal price gouging,” said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America. “Eggs are a key staple in the diet of most Americans, so it’s particularly galling that a company would value improper profits over allowing Americans to eat their product.”