The widespread closure of many restaurants and other businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic had led to many Americans cooking their food at home. This had increased the demand for eggs, says an article.

In some parts of the country, the price of eggs had risen by thrice its regular price. This has caused a lot of lawsuits to be filed against egg producers and retailers.


Lawsuits Filed

Despite the other inflated price cases in the country, others are putting a focus on the alarming prices of eggs.

The attorney general of Texas and a few residents of California had filed separate cases in the last part of April against the biggest egg producer in the country. They claim that the profits they are earning amid the COVID-19 pandemic are unfair, illicit, and excessive.

Additionally, the lawsuit filed by Californians had been drawn against other producers and large-scale supermarket chains such as Costco and Whole Foods. They also filed cases against huge egg wholesales. The complaint had a total of 25 defendants.


Looking Back 

As the coronavirus pandemic had just started taking significance among Americans, many of them had flocked supermarkets and panic buy essential goods such as hand sanitizers, toilet papers, and eggs in huge numbers.


The Average Price of Eggs

In March, the average wholesale price of Grade A large eggs had increased from $1.01 to $3.07 every dozen, says the Department of Agriculture of the United States.

In Texas, the average price of a similar classification of eggs had increased to $3.18. Also, the price of large brown eggs in the state increased to $3.44 in April, says in the lawsuit.


The Lawsuit Filed by the Texas Attorney General

According to the lawsuit filed by the Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, he accused Cal-Maine Foods, the biggest egg producer in the country, of inflating the prices of their egg products by 300 percent.


The Law

In the laws of the state of California, it allows a peak of 10 percent price increase for products during a state of emergency. On March 4, Governor Gavin Newsom declared California under a state of an emergency.

The laws of Texas do not have a similar parameter like California. However, the spirit of it is similar. The governor of the state of Texas, Greg Abbott, had declared a state of emergency on March 13.


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Eggs in the U.S.

On average, U.S. citizens consume 293 eggs every year. Based on the statement by the USDA., the residents of California consume an average of 300 eggs every resident. With California's population of 40 million people, it is estimated that a billion eggs are being consumed by the state every month.

According to Californian lawyers, compensation should be given to all the residents of California who have bought eggs in the duration of the state of emergency. Likewise, Texas also seeks compensation for the overpricing of eggs.

It is still unclear if the courts will be accepting the lawsuits filed. This is especially true for the lawsuits filed by Californians where the possible affected consumers are not significantly large.