In a significant development, a federal judge has granted preliminary approval to settlements reached between two poultry producers and a certified class in a lawsuit that alleged collusion among top chicken companies in the United States, resulting in suppressed competition and higher prices for broilers.
The Direct Purchaser Plaintiff Class has agreed to settlements totaling $15.9 million from Mountaire Farms and $4.9 million from O.K. Foods.
This follows a previous approval in June when the judge sanctioned an $8 million settlement between the plaintiff class and Simmons Foods. In total, poultry producers have committed to paying a substantial sum of $209.7 million to resolve claims brought by the Direct Purchaser Plaintiff Class as of the latest developments.
The case, known as the Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, involves the consolidation of multiple lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. These lawsuits collectively accuse the nation’s largest chicken processors of engaging in collusion to manipulate prices between 2008 and 2019.
These settlements represent significant steps towards addressing allegations of anti-competitive behavior within the poultry industry, ultimately aiming to ensure fair competition and pricing practices for consumers and market participants alike.
