This class action, In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, N.D. Ill. Case No. 1:16-cv-08637, is in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Durkin presided over this class action.
Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price of Broilers, beginning at least as early as January 1, 2008, and that their principal method for doing this was to coordinate their output and limit production, with the intent and expected result of increasing prices of Broilers in the United States, in violation of federal antitrust laws.
The Defendants and co-conspirators named in Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ Fourth Consolidated Amended Complaint are producers of Broiler chicken and Broiler chicken products in the United States. The Defendants include: Fieldale Farms Corporation; Koch Foods, Inc.; JCG Foods of Alabama, LLC; JCG Foods of Georgia, LLC; Koch Meat Co., Inc.; Tyson Foods, Inc.; Tyson Chicken, Inc.; Tyson Breeders, Inc.; Tyson Poultry, Inc.; Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation; Perdue Farms, Inc.; Perdue Foods LLC; Sanderson Farms, Inc.; Wayne Farms, LLC; Mountaire Farms, Inc.; Mountaire Farms, LLC; Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc.; Peco Foods, Inc.; Foster Farms, LLC; House of Raeford Farms, Inc.; Simmons Foods, Inc.; George’s, Inc.; George’s Farms, Inc.; O.K. Foods, Inc.; O.K. Farms, Inc.; O.K. Industries, Inc.; Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc.; Norman W. Fries, Inc.; Harrison Poultry, Inc.; Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc.; Mar-Jac Poultry MS, LLC; Mar-Jac Poultry AL, LLC; Mar-Jac AL/MS, Inc.; Mar-Jac Poultry, LLC; Mar-Jac Holdings, Amick Farms, LLC, Case Foods, Inc., Case Farms, LLC, Case Farms Processing, Inc., and Agri Stats, Inc.
The Court previously approved a settlement between the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs and Fieldale Farms Corporation. Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs now have reached three settlements with Peco, George’s and Amick. The Direct Purchasers’ case is proceeding against all other Defendants who have not settled the case. If applicable, you will receive a separate notice regarding the progress of the litigation and any resolution of claims against other Defendants.
The Settling Defendants vigorously and affirmatively denied all allegations of wrongdoing and damages in this lawsuit, and would have alleged numerous defenses to the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ claims if the case against them had proceeded. Nevertheless, the Settling Defendants agreed to settle this action to avoid the further expense, inconvenience, disruption, and burden of this litigation and any other present or future litigation arising out of the facts that gave rise to this litigation, to avoid the risks inherent in uncertain complex litigation and trial, and thereby to put to rest this controversy.