Cargill reaches $32M settlement over turkey price-fixing claims

Turkey settlement overview:

• Who: Cargill Inc. reached a $32 million settlement with direct buyers of turkey products.
• Why: The settlement resolves claims Cargill and other turkey producers conspired to limit the supply of turkey and fix its prices.
• Where: The turkey-pricing class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

A group of turkey buyers reached a $32 million settlement with Cargill Inc. to resolve claims the company conspired with other turkey producers to limit supply and fix prices.

An Illinois federal judge preliminary approved the Cargill turkey pricing settlement, noting the agreement provided substantial relief for the class, as well as “some degree of recovery” in a case that will continue to go on for a long time, Law360 reports. 

The consolidated class action alleged Cargill and other turkey producers, including Jennie-O, Butterball, Hormel and Perdue, conspired to limit supply and fix prices by sharing competitively sensitive information about pricing and production levels through the data firm Agri Stats Inc. 

Cargill turkey settlement brings turkey buyers’ total settlement pot to $37M

The turkey pricing settlement is the second settlement the turkey buyers have secured in the case, bringing the total settlement amount to more than $37 million, Law360 reports. 

“We think it is a good result for the class. It provided certainty for the class, and recovery, and allows us to provide a distribution for the class on a more accelerated basis,” the turkey buyers’ counsel reportedly told the judge.

The judge certified the indirect purchaser class late last month, ruling at that time that the buyers satisfied the requirements necessary to certify their claims as a class action lawsuit. 

The certified classes included a class of direct buyers and commercial and institutional indirect buyers who purchased turkey products between Jan. 1, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2016.

The buyers argue the turkey producers control more than 80% of the market for turkey products and are in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. 

What are your thoughts on the Cargill turkey settlement? Let us know in the comments.

The turkey buyers are represented by Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The turkey settlement is In Re: Turkey Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:19-cv-08318, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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