Poultry Companies Offer Settlement
Tyson, Perdue Reach $35.8 Million Settlement in Broiler Grow-Out Lawsuit
LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Tyson Foods, Perdue Foods LLC and other companies have reached a $35.8 million settlement with chicken growers who alleged in a February 2021 lawsuit the companies conspired to artificially reduce the amounts paid for broiler grow-out services, according to a news release from the companies.
In a February 2021 class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Eastern Oklahoma, the producers from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia and Texas alleged the companies "illegally agreed to share detailed data" on grower compensation with the "purpose and effect of artificially depressing grower compensation below competitive levels."
The original complaint alleged that by each company sharing data with each other, "they suppressed competition for broiler grow-out services and drove down compensation to all growers."
Chicken producers who were paid for broiler grow-out services between Jan. 27, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2019, may be eligible for payouts from the $35.8 million settlement.
"Tyson and Perdue deny that they did anything wrong and have asserted defenses to the claims against them," the news release said.
According to the settlement, Tyson will pay $21 million and Perdue $14.8 million into a settlement fund. The news release said Tyson and Perdue also agreed to offer "certain cooperation" in the ongoing litigation against defendants not a part of the settlement.
"Perdue has agreed to certain restrictions on its ability to enforce arbitration provisions against broiler chicken growers," the news release said.
The court has scheduled a Feb. 18, 2022, hearing on whether to approve the settlement.
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According to the news release, class members who wish to maintain their right to sue Tyson or Perdue separately are required to exclude themselves from the settlement by Dec. 6, 2021.
This settlement is the latest in a series of settlements and other actions related to the broiler industry.
In January 2020, Tyson announced a $221.5 million settlement in an ongoing class action antitrust lawsuit filed against chicken broiler companies, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
It was the second announced settlement in a lawsuit filed by Maplevale Farms in 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois. Pilgrim's Pride announced a $75 million settlement on Jan. 11,2021.
The lawsuit alleged a number of large chicken-producing companies, including Pilgrim's Pride, Tyson, Koch Foods and others, beginning at least as early as January 2008, "conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize the price of broilers."
In February 2021, Pilgrim's Pride Corp. admitted to its role in a conspiracy to fix broiler chicken prices starting in 2012 and will pay a $107.9 million fine as part of a plea agreement entered in federal court.
According to the plea agreement entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in Denver, from as early as 2012 and continuing at least on into 2017, Pilgrim's Pride participated in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition for sales of broiler chicken products in the United States that affected at least $361 million in the company's sales of broiler chicken products.
For more information on how to file a claim in the latest settlement: https://www.broilergrowersantitrustsettlement.com/…
Read more on DTN:
"Pilgrim's Pride Reaches Settlement,"
"Pilgrim's Pride Fined $107.9 Million,"
"Tyson Reaches Broiler Legal Settlement,"
Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com
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