Poultry producers in a large antitrust lawsuit challenged a recent move by Sysco Corp., one of the plaintiffs, to let a litigation funder affiliate take its place in the federal case, according to court documents.
Last week, Carina Ventures filed a joint motion with Sysco to allow the latter to drop out of the case. Carina is an affiliate of Buford Capital, which funded Sysco’s litigation costs in the In Re Broiler Chicken Antitrust lawsuit.
The chicken companies questioned the legality of the motion, citing rules that bar purchase of claims in a lawsuit by “strangers.”
Earlier this year, Sysco filed a lawsuit against Buford, claiming the litigation funder overstepped by preventing it from hiring new lawyers in antitrust lawsuits by blocking settlements in at least two of the cases.
Buford, which provided Sysco with $140 million to pursue price-fixing lawsuits, denied the allegations and says it will not stand in the way of Sysco hiring new lawyers, as long as the company agrees to cover any additional costs for substitute counsel.
Carina and Sysco filed joint cases in similar lawsuits against the pork and beef industries as well.
