By Jamie Martin
A consumer class action involving the U.S. poultry sector has reached an important milestone with a request for final approval of a settlement involving Agri Stats.
The case is part of a broader antitrust lawsuit that alleges major chicken producers engaged in actions that reduced competition and contributed to higher chicken prices for consumers. The lawsuit covers a large group of purchasers of raw chicken products across the United States.
"Our antitrust team is incredibly proud of the corporate reform possible through this class-action settlement with Agri Stats after 10 years of complex litigation," said Shana Scarlett, partner at Hagens Berman representing the class. "Monetary relief will put hundreds of millions of dollars back into the pockets of consumers, and this injunctive relief will shield them from future anticompetitive behavior with major reform to this industry."
Under the proposed settlement, Agri Stats will make substantial changes to the way it collects, manages, and reports about market information. The goal is to reduce the possibility of anti-competitive conduct and improve market transparency.
The settlement introduces a detailed compliance framework. Agri Stats will establish written antitrust policies, conduct annual employee training, strengthen confidentiality protections, and appoint outside legal oversight focused on competition compliance.
Additional reforms include removing competitor-specific pricing information, eliminating certain participant rankings and performance indicators, enhancing data security protections, and ending the distribution of some sales reports and future market forecasts.
Supporters of the agreement say these changes directly address the information-sharing practices challenged during the litigation. The reforms are designed to help maintain fair competition in the poultry sector moving forward.
The lawsuit was filed in 2016 and alleges that chicken companies coordinated production decisions that limited supply and increased market prices. Plaintiffs contend these actions negatively affected consumers purchasing chicken products nationwide.
Court records show settlements have already been reached with several defendants, resulting in more than $200 million in monetary relief. Legal proceedings continue against remaining defendants in the ongoing case.
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Categories: National