Last chicken price-fixing case dismissed after evidence excluded

Chicken price-fixing overview: 

• Who: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped its chicken price-fixing case against two Pilgrim’s Pride executives. 
• Why: The case was dropped after a judge ruled that the government’s evidence contained only the “faintest whiffs of an agreement to fix prices.”
• Where: The chicken price-fixing class action was dismissed in a Colorado federal court.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped its chicken price-fixing case against two Pilgrim’s Pride executives after a judge ruled that the government’s evidence contained only the “faintest whiffs of an agreement to fix prices.”

On Oct. 17, U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Domenico granted the dismissal without prejudice of the criminal antitrust charges against Jason McGuire and Timothy Stiller brought in a Colorado federal court.

The government had alleged that the former Pilgrim’s Pride executives had breached criminal antitrust laws, as well as related witness tampering and obstruction laws.

However, on Oct. 14, Judge Domenico filed an order excluding evidence in the case and stating that prosecutors had “not established the charged conspiracy by a preponderance of evidence, effectively excluding most of the government’s evidence in the process.”

The DOJ said its move to dismiss followed the Oct. 14 order. “The order departs from prior rulings in the district concerning the same conspiracy,” it said in a motion. “Nevertheless, in light of the court’s ruling, the United States moves to dismiss the case.” 

Chicken price-fixing lawsuits faced dismissal, mistrials

The dismissal is the latest stumble in the DOJ’s yearslong investigation into allegations of price fixing among the nation’s largest chicken and poultry producers.

Investigators were able to secure a guilty plea from Pilgrim’s Pride, and dish out a $107.9 million fine, while poultry producer Tyson Foods had agreed to cooperate with investigators.

But five other former executives charged with chicken price-fixing were acquitted of their charges earlier this year, and the government’s cases were subject to two mistrials, Law360 reports.

In the Pilgrim’s Pride executives case, Judge Domenico said prosecutors had not met their burden of demonstrating there was a conspiracy to fix prices. 

He said the government’s evidence contains only the “faintest whiffs of an agreement to fix prices” and contended it relied too heavily on the recollections and interpretations of witnesses to be admissible.

Meanwhile, poultry processors Cargill Inc, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms have agreed to pay nearly $85 million collectively to settle claims they conspired to share employee wage and benefit information with one another, in violation of federal antitrust laws. 

What do you think of the government dropping this chicken price-fixing case? Let us know in the comments! 

The government is represented by Sara M. Clingan, Laura Jing Bu&e, Daniel A. Loveland, Yixi Cheng, Christian Neumeister and Kaitlyn Barry of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

The Chicken price-fixing lawsuit is U.S. v. McGuire et al., Case No. 1:21-cr-00246, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

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