Pilgrim’s Pleasure, Tyson Foods settle some rooster price-fixing litigation

(Reuters) – Pilgrim’s Pleasure Corp and Tyson Foods Inc said on Monday they have settled price-correcting litigation by a team of poultry potential buyers that accused them of violating U.S. antitrust legislation by conspiring to inflate rooster costs.

Pilgrim’s Satisfaction, owned generally by Brazil’s JBS SA, will shell out $75 million to settle promises by purchasers that bought chickens straight from the organization. The size of Tyson’s settlement with the exact purchasers was not disclosed.

Neither organization admitted liability, and both equally reported settling was in their very best interests.

Both settlements have to have acceptance by a federal judge in Chicago.

Neither influences statements by “indirect” purchasers, which include things like cafe and grocery store operators these types of as Chick-fil-A, Kroger Co and Goal Inc as very well as standard buyers.

They also do not impact promises versus other defendants, this kind of as Sanderson Farms Inc and Perdue Farms Inc.

Pilgrim’s settlement is the largest in a lot more than four yrs of litigation by dining establishments, supermarkets and food stuff distributors above alleged value-fixing in the $65 billion hen sector right here.

A number of smaller sized rooster producers previously reached similar settlements totaling $13 million.

Related litigation has been pending in Minneapolis federal court accusing Tyson, a further JBS device and other pork producers of conspiring to inflate pork prices by restricting offer.

The Pilgrim’s settlement follows that company’s arrangement in Oct to pay a $110.5 million good to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice prison selling price-correcting probe.

Very last 12 months, the Justice Section also filed felony selling price-fixing and bid-rigging charges right here in Denver towards 10 poultry industry executives. All have pleaded not guilty.

The case is In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Courtroom, Northern District of Illinois, No. 16-08637.