Agri Stats, an agricultural data company accused by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of colluding with poultry producers to manipulate prices, has requested a federal judge to relocate the case to another court, according to court documents.
The DOJ, in collaboration with four states, initiated the lawsuit against Agri Stats, alleging that the company orchestrated “anticompetitive information exchanges among broiler chicken, pork, and turkey processors.” The lawsuit claims that Agri Stats collected, integrated, and distributed “competitively sensitive information related to price, cost, and output among competing meat processors,” resulting in harm to customers and retail outlets.
Recently, Agri Stats’ legal representatives petitioned the Minnesota federal judge to transfer the case to either the Northern District of Indiana, where the company is incorporated, or the Northern District of Illinois. The latter district had previously faced similar charges against Agri Stats in the In Re Chicken Broiler lawsuit, which were ultimately dismissed.
The original complaint by the DOJ was filed in late September, with attorneys general from California, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Tennessee added to an amended complaint last week.
