Chick-fil-A settles chicken price-fixing lawsuit against Tyson Foods

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Chick-fil-A chicken price-fixing lawsuit overview:

• Who: Chick-fil-A has reached a settlement with Tyson Foods.
• Why: The settlement resolves claims that Tyson conspired with other food producers to fix and inflate chicken prices.
• Where: The settlement was filed in an Illinois federal court.

Chick-fil-A Inc. has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging Tyson Foods Inc. and its subsidiaries conspired with other food producers to fix and inflate broiler chicken prices.

An order for dismissal with prejudice signed Nov. 18 by U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin, ends the litigation brought by Chick-fil-A against Tyson Foods and a number of related Tyson entities. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Tyson and suppliers colluded to increase price of chicken, lawsuit alleged

The settlement comes after a December 2020 complaint filed against Tyson and seven other companies, including Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., in which Chick-fil-A stated that broiler chicken is the central ingredient in many of its restaurants’ products.

After announcing plans to offer antibiotic-free chicken in 2014, Chick-fil-A said its suppliers colluded through phone calls and text messages to coordinate higher bidding and price points on its chicken products. 

The defendants in the lawsuit included Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride and Sanderson Farms. 

Chick-fil-A said it bought billions of dollars’ worth of broiler chickens from these poultry producers and suffered damage to its business as a result.

“Defendants possessed significant market power in the market for broilers and their conduct had actual anticompetitive effects,” Chick-fil-A said in the lawsuit. 

At the time, the fast food chain’s lawsuit joined litigation already underway. A class action lawsuit filed in 2016 over chicken prices initially began with plaintiffs from four states claiming antitrust violations dating back to 2007. 

The multidistrict lawsuit includes claims from individual consumers as well as companies. For years, according to the lawsuit, the companies deliberately killed off hens and destroyed eggs to manipulate the market.   

Manipulated chicken prices had the Justice Department serving indictments by summer 2020. 

In the Chick-fil-A matter, Tyson has received conditional leniency from the Department of Justice’s antitrust division because it “provided and will continue to provide timely, fulsome, and satisfactory ongoing cooperation” with regard to the claims arising from the criminal investigation, the order states.

Meanwhile, chicken production company George’s has settled claims from 12 restaurant companies — including White Castle, Bojangles and Golden Corral — that alleged the company conspired with other food producers to inflate and fix chicken prices.

What do you think of this Chick-fil-A settlement? Let us know in the comments. 

Chick-fil-A Inc. is represented by Julie B. Porter of Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter PLLC.

The Chick-fil-A broiler chicken cases are Chick-Fil-A Inc. v Tyson Foods Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-07205, and In re: Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:16-cv-08637, both in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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