US court allows beef price-fixing lawsuits against major meatpackers to proceed as class actions

USA – A United States federal judge has granted class action status to several lawsuits accusing the country’s largest beef processors of conspiring to restrict supplies and inflate beef prices, allowing the cases to move forward on behalf of millions of consumers and businesses.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim certified the class actions on Thursday, covering consumers as well as direct and indirect purchasers, including grocery retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, and catering companies.

The lawsuits allege that Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson Foods coordinated to limit beef supplies and increase prices between 2014 and 2020.

According to court filings, the four companies account for more than 80% of the beef sold in the United States.

The defendants have denied the allegations, with some companies declining to comment immediately following the ruling.

Judge Tunheim declined to certify separate classes seeking court orders requiring the companies to change their business practices, limiting the ruling to claims for monetary damages.

Plaintiffs seek billions in damages

Economic experts representing the plaintiffs estimated that businesses purchasing beef directly from the processors suffered damages of about US$13.79 billion.

The experts also estimated losses of approximately US$1.89 billion for restaurants and food service businesses, while placing consumer damages at more than US$1.94 billion.

The court appointed several law firms, including Hagens Berman and Lockridge Grindal, to lead the consumer class action proceedings.

In a related decision, the judge denied or limited proposed class actions brought by groups that sell cattle directly or indirectly to the meatpacking companies.

The litigation began in 2019 as part of a wider series of antitrust cases involving the US meat industry, including separate lawsuits targeting chicken, pork and turkey producers.

Several defendants have already reached settlements covering some of the claims without admitting wrongdoing.

Earlier this year, Tyson Foods agreed to pay US$82.5 million to settle proposed class action claims brought by grocery retailers and other commercial beef purchasers.

The company also agreed to pay US$55 million to resolve consumer claims in the same litigation, while Cargill reached a US$32.5 million settlement with consumers.

In a separate settlement, JBS agreed to pay US$83.5 million to resolve another portion of the ongoing beef price fixing litigation, although legal proceedings continue against the remaining defendants.

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