Beef Price-Fixing Lawsuit is Settled

Tyson Foods and Cargill will pay a combined $87.5 million in a settlement reached with the Consumer Indirect Purchaser plaintiffs in a beef price-fixing lawsuit that began in 2019. Filed this week in a Minnesota U.S. District Court, the Consumer IPP class notified the court that Tyson will pay $55 million and Cargill $32.5 million in monetary relief. Both of the companies agreed to cooperate in the case against the two remaining defendants, JBS and National Beef Packing. National Hog Farmer Magazine said the Consumer IPPs are consumers who indirectly purchased beef from major retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club between August 2014 and December 2019. They’re based in 26 states and Washington, D.C., where laws allow indirect purchasers to sue for damage. The class action lawsuit claims that the four largest meatpackers, who control 80 percent of the market, conspired to restrict the supply of cattle and fix beef prices.

Source: NAFB