Poultry companies to pay $35M price-fixing settlement to Washington state

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Poultry price-fixing settlement overview:

• Who: Fourteen poultry companies have agreed to pay $35 million to Washington state.
• Why: The poultry producers allegedly engaged in a conspiracy to inflate the price of chicken products sold in the state.
• Where: The poultry price-fixing settlement was reached in King County Superior Court.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson recently announced the state has reached a $35 million price-fixing settlement over allegations certain chicken producers conspired to fix the prices of chicken products.

Fourteen of the 19 chicken producers named in the state’s poultry price-fixing lawsuit agreed to settle the claims against them, Ferguson said.

The non-settling poultry producers are scheduled for trial in October 2024.

Poultry settlement will resolve claims producers allegedly engaged in widespread poultry price-fixing conspiracy

Washington filed the poultry price-fixing lawsuit in October 2021, claiming chicken producers engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate the price of chicken in the state.

The chicken producers are accused of conspiring to inflate the price of chicken since at least 2008, causing Washingtonians to overpay for chicken prices. The poultry price-fixing lawsuit says the producers rigged contract bids, illegally shared information and conspired to reduce supply to maximize their profits.

This alleged poultry price-fixing conspiracy violates the Washington Consumer Protection Act’s antitrust provision, according to the lawsuit.

7 million Washingtonians may have overpaid for chicken products, AG says

The alleged poultry price-fixing conspiracy affected about 7 million Washington consumers who purchase broiler chicken products at grocery stores and restaurants. 

“If you bought chicken in the last several years, you paid more for that chicken than you should have because of the illegal conduct from these companies,” Ferguson said in the statement.

“This is yet another milestone in our case against the companies involved in this conspiracy – but we are not done,” he continued. “Antitrust laws protect consumers when company executives conspire to rig the system.”

“I will hold all of the conspirators accountable.”

The poultry settlement reportedly includes three of the largest chicken producers in the United States. Tyson Foods will reportedly pay $10.5 million, Pilgrims Pride Corp. will pay $11 million and Perdue Farms will pay $6.5 million to settle the Washington poultry price-fixing lawsuit.

The settling defendants have also reportedly agreed to cooperate with the attorney general’s office in the case against the remaining co-conspirators.

In 2021, several poultry processors reached a $181 million poultry settlement over allegations they engaged in a poultry price-fixing conspiracy.

Have you purchased chicken products in Washington? Tell us what you think of the poultry settlement in the comments.

The State of Washington is represented by Robert W. Ferguson, Travis A. Kennedy and Christina M. Black of the attorney general’s office.

The poultry price-fixing settlement is State of Washington v. Tyson Foods Inc., et al., Case No. 21-2-14174-5, in King County Superior Court, State of Washington.

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