By AP
Frankfort, KY – A lawsuit brought by the Kentucky and federal governments alleging the merger of providers of school milk would drive up the price in Tennessee and Kentucky has been re-instated.
The sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling came after a federal judge in Kentucky ruled in favor of the milk providers in the suit filed two years ago.
The suit involved Flav-O-Rich milk processing company in London, Kentucky and Sothern Belle, which owns a processing plant in Somerset. Those companies are partly owned by a holding company based in Kansas City.
The government contends their merger resulted in a monopoly for school milk in more than 40 school districts in Kentucky and Tennessee. The suit also says the merger reduced competition in another 50 districts.