DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 20,000 claims have been filed by parents seeking part of a $1.9 million class-action lawsuit settlement over food bidding at hundreds of Iowa schools, according to attorneys handling the case. The claims filed since the settlement was announced Sept. 2 cover more than 47,000 students, said Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney for parents who sued Martin Brothers Distributing Company, the Iowa Educators Corporation and the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing.

Fegan called the surge in numbers within a two-week period, “exciting.” The Cedar Falls-based Martin Brothers was accused of conspiring with IEC and IAEP for years to monopolize the business of selling food at schools across Iowa. The lawsuit, filed in 2011, said the result was students being overcharged because there wasn’t healthy competition in the market to keep prices down.

The defendants maintain they did nothing wrong and that the process was fair. They reached the settlement to avoid costly litigation, according to one of their attorneys. “There was no admission of liability or wrongdoing,” said Deb Tharnish, an attorney representing Martin Brothers. “It made economic sense to get the case resolved.”

Attorneys for IEC said they had no comment because the case is still pending. IAEP representatives did not immediately respond to a message left Friday. Parents and others have until the end of September to file a claim to receive up to $3.50 per student per year. A judge is expected to finalize the settlement in early November.