New York AG: Tyson ignoring subpoena in price-gouging probe

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a court filing that Tyson Foods Inc. is refusing to comply with a subpoena related to a civil probe into alleged price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legal office of lawyers and attorneys legal bronze model statue of Themis goddess of justice.
Legal office of lawyers and attorneys legal bronze model statue of Themis goddess of justice.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a court filing that Tyson Foods Inc. is refusing to comply with a subpoena related to a civil probe into alleged price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

James has asked a state judge in Manhattan to produce materials showing contractual terms, prices and profit margins for its sales to retailers in New York from December 2019 to April 2022, according to a Reuters report.

James said Tyson provided “limited” information but stopped complying, making a “novel and unfounded argument” that New York’s price gouging law did not apply to meat imported from other states. James said in the court filing that Tyson’s argument “can be tested only by examining the very materials that Tyson now refuses to produce.”

James launched a rulemaking process to look into whether major corporations are using the pandemic and inflation as an excuse to unfairly raise the price of basic goods. She said New York’s law bans “unconscionably excessive” prices, which include both “unconscionably extreme” prices and prices set through “unfair leverage or unconscionable means.”

Tyson has not responded to a request for comment.

James has previously accused egg producer Hillandale Farms of price gouging during the pandemic. That case was settled in April 2021, with Hillandale agreeing to donate 1.2 million eggs to food banks located throughout the state of New York. Hillandale disputed the allegations of the case and explained in a statement that historically, eggs have been subject to volatile prices, noting that egg prices at that time were lower than they were in August 2019, and well below what they were in January-March 2019.

Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods is the largest broiler producer in the U.S., according to WATTPoultry.com’s Top Companies database. In 2021, it slaughtered 1.9 million birds.

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