Final Approval of JBS Beef Settlement
On May 16, 2023, Judge Tunnheim of the District of Minnesota granted final approval of a $52.5 million settlement on behalf of direct purchasers of beef products from JBS, Cargill, Tyson and National Beef. The settlement releases only JBS and its affiliates from the litigation, which continues against the remaining Defendants. Once purchase data is compiled from the Defendants, distributions will be made to valid class members without the need for claim forms. “This is an outstanding ice-breaker settlement in this sprawling price-fixing case,” said Jason Hartley. “We are proud of our cutting edge administration process that will allow us to distribute the settlement proceeds directly to class members without requiring them to fill out separate, individual claim forms.”
————————-
Hartley LLP Files First Direct Purchaser Price Fixing Case in $50 billion Beef Producers Market
Hartley LLP filed a class action complaint on behalf of direct purchasers of packaged beef products from the country’s largest beef meatpackers, Cargill, National Beef, Tyson and JBS. The complaint, filed in the District of Minnesota, alleges the defendants engaged in anticompetitive behavior at both ends of their product lines in order to artificially inflate margins to record levels. Defendants both agreed to coordinate their offers to buy fed cattle at low prices and also conspired to raise the prices of the beef they sold after processing the cattle. Defendants together control over 80% of the United States market for beef, selling nearly $50 billion annually between them. The U.S. Department of Justice issued Civil Investigative Demands on each of the Defendants in June, 2020 and the Department of Agriculture is investigating anticompetitive behavior as well.
About Hartley LLP
Hartley LLP represents victims of anticompetitive conduct like price fixing agreements, unfair competition, tying agreements and monopolization. Its attorneys have worked to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for their clients. For more information about the firm, visit https://hartleyllp.com/results/.