Law firms: Settlement funds available to chicken buyers

Two law firms representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit in which top poultry companies in the United States were accused of conspiring to drive up the price of chicken can now be eligible to receive money from settlements offered by defendant companies.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Alexander Kalina, Freeimages.com)
(Alexander Kalina, Freeimages.com)

Two law firms representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit in which top poultry companies in the United States were accused of conspiring to drive up the price of chicken can now be eligible to receive money from settlements offered by defendant companies.

In a notice issued by legal firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, it was stated that settlements totaling $181 million have been reached between the plaintiffs and Fieldale Farms, George’s, Mar-Jac Poultry, Peco Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson Foods, as well as subsidiaries of those companies.

The notice, which was authorized by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, stated that all persons and entities who indirectly purchased fresh or frozen poultry products – excluding chicken marketed as halal, kosher, free-range or organic – from those defendants in California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin within certain timelines from 2009 to 2020 could be eligible for compensation from those settlements. 

None of the companies that offered settlements admitted any wrongdoing, but rather chose to settle so they could continue to do business without the legal distraction.

Before any money related to this lawsuit can be paid, the court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the settlements, the notice stated. A portion of the settlement proceeds will also be used by the claims administrator for notice and administration costs.

Other companies targeted in the lawsuit that have not offered to settle include Agri Stats, Claxton Poultry Farms, Foster Farms, Harrison Poultry, House of Raeford Farms, Koch Foods, O.K. Foods, Perdue Farms, Simmons Foods, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms, as well as certain subsidiaries of those companies. A proposed merger between Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms is pending.

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