In a significant legal development, an appeals court has invalidated a district judge’s order that would have imposed a $57 million attorney fee burden on plaintiffs involved in a class action lawsuit against poultry producers. The lawsuit centered on allegations that poultry companies had engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate broiler chicken prices. As part of the settlement, poultry producers had agreed to pay a total of $181 million to the plaintiff class, with a provision requiring the plaintiffs to allocate a third of this settlement sum to their legal representation.
Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision in favor of the plaintiffs, resulting in the case being remanded back to the lower court for a reevaluation of the attorney fee arrangement.
Furthermore, in a separate development earlier this week, a federal judge granted preliminary approval to settlements reached between The Direct Purchaser Plaintiff Class and two poultry companies, Mountaire Farms and O.K. Foods. Mountaire Farms has agreed to pay $15.9 million, while O.K. Foods will pay $4.9 million to resolve allegations that these companies, in conjunction with others, engaged in anticompetitive practices that inflated broiler chicken prices. These settlements mark a significant step toward resolving the complex legal issues surrounding the broiler chicken industry.
