McDonald’s filed to join a lawsuit against Agri Stats and the largest poultry companies in the United States, joining a long list of restaurants, grocers and food processors to accuse the poultry industry of conspiring to raise the price of chicken through legal action.
The company filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, against the poultry companies, asserting that they conspired between 2008 and 2019 to reduce broiler production and fix prices by using industry information gained through Agri Stats.
The company in April informed its franchisees that it intended to join the lawsuit against the poultry companies.
The lawsuit McDonald’s would join was initially filed in 2016 and is a consolidated lawsuit, which includes major companies such as Aldi, Affiliated Foods, Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons Companies, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Bojangles Restaurants, Bi-Lo, Bob Evans Farms, Buffalo Wild Wings, Campbell Soup Company, Chick-fil-A, Cracker Barrel, Darden Restaurants, Conagra Brands, Golden Corral, Hy-Vee, Kraft Heinz, Meijer, Nestle, Pinnacle Foods, Publix, Sysco, Target, Johnny Rockets, Kroger, Walmart, Whataburger, White Castle, Winn-Dixie and Zaxby’s.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion in 2019 to intervene in cases in which plaintiffs alleged poultry industry collusion, as well as investigate the claims of the lawsuits. Since this time, two poultry companies – Koch Foods and Claxton Poultry -- and numerous individuals have been indicted on federal antitrust charges.
Among the individuals to be indicted are Claxton Poultry President Mikell Fries and former Pilgrim’s Pride CEOs Bill Lovette and Jayson Penn.
Pilgrim’s Pride in February pleaded guilty to charges that it participated in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products.
Settlements have been offered by Tyson Foods and Fieldale Farms, with both companies stating that the settlements were not an admission of any wrongdoing, but rather to allow the companies to focus on its regular business initiatives without the distraction of the lawsuit.
