Harrison Poultry became the latest poultry company accused of conspiring with other companies to rig bids and drive up the price of chicken to settle a lawsuit against them.
According to Top Class Actions, Harrison Poultry agreed to pay $2.8 million to a group of commercial and institutional indirect purchasers. The settlement was reached in a federal court in Illinois.
The company had previously agreed to a $3.3 million settlement in a similar lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of direct purchasers.
In reaching the pair of settlements, the company did not admit any guilt, but in doing so, it the company to continue to do business without the distraction of the lawsuit.
Three classes exist in the class-action lawsuits which allege such collusion among the top poultry companies in the United States: direct purchasers, indirect purchasers and end consumers.
The settlement comes just several weeks after Simmons Foods offered an $8 million settlement in the suit representing direct purchasers.
Companies that have been named in the lawsuits, in addition to Harrison Poultry and Simmons Foods, include: Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Sanderson Farms, Koch Foods, Mountaire Farms, Wayne Farms, House of Raeford Farms, Mar-Jac Holdings, Perdue Farms, Fieldale Farms, George’s, O.K. Foods, Foster Farms, Claxton Poultry and Agri Stats. Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms have since merged and now operate as Wayne-Sanderson Farms.
Other companies to offer settlements to date include Tyson Foods, Peco Foods, Amick Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride and Fieldale Farms.
Headquartered in Bethlehem, Georgia, Harrison Poultry is the 21st largest poultry producer in the United States – the smallest of those to be named in these lawsuits. During the past year, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database, the company processed 5.6 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis during the past year. Its key brands include Harrison Golden Goodness, Yellow Bird, Pollo El Dorado and Al Marwah.
