$76M Chicken Price Fixing Settlement Inked by Pilgrim’s Pride in Consumer Class Actions

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Chicken Price Fixing Settlement Overview: 

• Who: Pilgrim’s Pride Corp, along with Mar-Jac Poultry Inc, each accused of driving up the price of broiler chicken and tens of millions of consumers who purchased chicken between 2009 and 2019.  
• Why: Pilgrim’s has agreed to pay $76 million, while Mar-Jac will pay $1 million, to end litigation brought by consumers accusing them and other producers, such as Tyson, of chicken price fixing.  
• Where: A motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement has been submitted to an Illinois federal court.  

A pair of producers, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp and Mar-Jac Poultry Inc, have agreed to pay $75.5 million and $1 million respectively to end chicken price fixing litigation filed by consumers, according to settlement documents submitted to Illinois federal court Thursday.  

The proposed settlement agreement is the latest development in a sweeping class action lawsuit launched in 2016 claiming major producers conspired to drive up the price of chicken for everyone from consumers, fast Chick-fil-A and other food chains, and grocers.  

“These are the fifth and sixth settlements reached between [end-user consumer plaintiffs] and defendant families, bringing the total recovery to date for the [end-user consumer plaintiffs] class to $181 million,” states the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval of the settlement.  

Consumer Chicken Price Fixing Settlement Class 

If approved, Class Members will include individuals and entities who purchased a variety of fresh or frozen raw chicken products for personal consumption between 2009 and July 31, 2019. The timeline varies depending on each Class Member’s state and will potentially include millions of consumers who purchased chicken over the course of a decade.  

Indeed, contact information for more than 32 million Class Members has been located from information provided by grocery and club stores, say the settlement documents.  

Class Members have not yet been sent notice of the six chicken price fixing class action settlements. Top Class Actions will continue to monitor the litigation and report major updates.  

Have you noticed higher prices for chicken? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.   

The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. 

The Broiler Chicken Price Fixing Class Action Lawsuits are In re: Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:16-cv-08637, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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• Salmon Price-Fixing Class Action Accusing Mowi, Other Norwegian Producers Draws European Ire
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