Confidential Data in Antitrust Case

OMAHA (DTN) -- A federal magistrate in Minnesota has rejected a motion by the Indiana data company Agri Stats to seal a lawsuit filed by the federal government after Agri Stats claimed the Justice Department revealed confidential details about its business.

The Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in late September against Agri Stats, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, alleging the company provided detailed information to meatpackers to reduce domestic supplies and increase costs to domestic food processors, retailers and consumers.

Agri Stats responded to the DOJ lawsuit by asking the U.S. District Court in Minnesota to require the Justice Department to withdraw its complaint and refile it under seal, then require DOJ and Agri Stats to negotiate about what should be made public. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Docherty handed down an order last week rejecting Agri Stats' request.

Agri Stats also is tied up in separate civil actions including pork antitrust litigation in Minnesota and turkey and broiler chicken cases in Illinois.

Justice officials brought the case seeking to limit how Agri Stats shares sensitive data among competitors. The complaint alleges this sharing of information results in consumers paying more for chicken, pork and turkey products.

The Justice Department began issuing civil investigation demands against Agri Stats in March 2022. When submitting documents to DOJ, Agri Stats listed everything as "confidential business information." Agri Stats claims that the DOJ was bound to honor that material was confidential, though DOJ's Antitrust Division disputes that argument.

Agri Stats collects detailed production and processing information from companies in the chicken broiler, pork and turkey industries. It then provides weekly and monthly reports for meat processors to use when setting their prices and production levels, the DOJ complaint states. The reports detail everything from the volume of chicks hatched to the cost for workers and compensation paid to farmers, as well as output from processing plants.

The Justice Department noted Agri Stats receives data from 17 broiler companies, eight pork companies and 14 turkey companies and distributes reports to those various companies about market conditions. The Justice Department stated those companies account for 90% of the broiler sales, 80% of pork sales and 90% of turkey sales in the U.S.

The DOJ lawsuit alleges Agri Stats violated the Sherman Antitrust Act in the broiler, pork and turkey industries going back to 2008. The Justice Department seeks to permanently enjoin Agri Stats from sharing sensitive information among industry competitors.

On its website, Agri Stats responded by stating the DOJ lawsuit "threatens serious harm to American consumers of chicken, pork, and turkey because protein producers depend upon Agri Stats' reports to help them identify opportunities to reduce production costs to keep prices low."

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The DOJ complaint cites Agri Stats is owned by a consortium of individuals, including four senior Agri Stats officers and two foreign nationals, through a network of holding companies. According to the complaint, TBG AG (the Thyssen-Bornemisza Group), a Swiss venture capital firm which owns DTN, provided funding to purchase Agri Stats. There is no connection between TBG and Agri-Stats other than as a lender. There is no connection between DTN and Agri Stats.

Also see, "Justice Department Sues Pork, Poultry Data Collection Firm Agri Stats," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ChrisClaytonDTN

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