Fast-Food Chains Allege Price Fixing By Big 4 Packers
A handful of highly recognizable fast-food restaurant chains have filed suit in Florida against the nation’s four largest beef packers, alleging price fixing.Sonic, Arby’s, Burger King, Whataburger, Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. filed a 94-page complaint against Cargill, Tyson, JBS and National Beef Packing Co., claiming that the four have been fixing prices and artificially constraining beef supplies since 2015.
The plaintiffs ask for a jury trial and financial judgements equal to three times the damages the restaurants say they sustained due to the alleged price fixing.
Similar claims were made previously in a lawsuit filed by R-CALF USA and the National Farmers Union. Last month the federal district court in Minnesota consolidated the antitrust claims of several large retailers and wholesalers several with the R-CALF and NFU suit.
Source: Drovers