Tyson Foods to pay US$82.5M to settle beef price-fixing lawsuit
The case is part of a wider federal antitrust litigation involving several top U.S. meat producers.
USA – Tyson Foods has reached a proposed US$82.5 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed by grocers and other businesses that accused the company of artificially inflating U.S. beef prices by limiting supply.
The agreement, filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, is still subject to judicial approval after the plaintiffs and Tyson finalize the settlement terms.
Plaintiffs in the case include grocery chains and food distributors that purchased beef directly from Tyson, including Pennsylvania-based Redner’s Markets and Mississippi-based R&D Marketing.
The lawsuit claims Tyson, along with several major beef producers, conspired to maintain high prices for retail-ready consumer cuts and boxed beef from 2015 through 2022.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs have estimated that thousands of businesses qualify as members of the proposed class of direct purchasers affected by the alleged price-fixing.
Tyson’s settlement marks the second resolution for direct purchasers following JBS USA’s agreement to pay US$52.5 million, a deal the company said did not involve an admission of wrongdoing and received court approval in 2022.
Cargill and National Beef, the remaining defendants in the litigation, have not publicly commented on the case or any potential settlements.
In addition to the direct purchaser settlement, Tyson previously resolved consumer-related claims in the same beef litigation for US$55 million, addressing allegations from individual buyers.
Earlier this year, Tyson also agreed to a separate US$85 million settlement in a proposed consumer class-action accusing it of collaborating with rivals to inflate pork prices.
The broader litigation is officially titled In re Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Case No. 0:22-md-03031-JRT-JFD.
Plaintiffs in the case are represented by attorneys Daniel Gustafson of Gustafson Gluek, Adam Zapala of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, Jason Hartley of Hartley LLP, and Megan Jones of Hausfeld, while Tyson is represented by Susan Foster of Perkins Coie and John Terzaken of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Requests for comment from Tyson and the attorneys for the beef purchasers were not immediately returned following the settlement announcement.
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