05/17/06 Packers liable

Packers Liable The big boys of beef packers have been taken to court again. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back with some details and the verdict. Herman Schumacher, cattle producer of Herreid, South Dakota and two other plaintiffs brought a lawsuit against Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., Excel Corporation, Swift Company, and National Beef Packing Company. The class action suit claimed these beef packers misreported USDA boxed beef prices between April 2, 2001 and May 11, 2001. Three of the packers were found liable of engaging in conduct that had the purpose of manipulating fed cattle prices. The unanimous decision by an eight-person federal jury stated the packers knew of the reporting errors before it was made public which led to unfair market competition. National Beef Packing Company was found not liable. The jury awarded $9.25 million to all cattle producers who sold to the packers during the time period in question. Four million dollars was levied against Tyson, $3 million against Excel, and Swift will pay $2.25 million. Proceedings will now go forward to allow individual producers their share of the awarded settlement. In a somewhat similar case about two years ago a jury found Tyson liable of using captive supplies to manipulate fed cattle prices. That case awarded $1.28 billion to the plaintiffs, but the judge in that case sided with Tyson and threw the jury verdict out. It will be interesting to see if the plaintiffs in this case do receive redemption. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Livestock Reporter 4/19/06