Judge Won’t Transfer Class Action Lawsuit Involving Turkey Prices

A federal judge in Illinois denied a request Tuesday to transfer a class action lawsuit in her court to another that is handling a huge civil case involving allegations of price fixing in the poultry industry.

Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative Inc. and John Gross and Co. Inc. asked District Judge Virginia M. Kendall to move the class action lawsuit they filed over turkey prices to U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin, who is handling a similar case involving broiler chicken prices. Agri Stats Inc., an information sharing and consulting company that works with agricultural businesses, is a key defendant in both class action lawsuits, but that fact didn’t sway Kendall to transfer the turkey case.

“This case and broiler chicken, although sharing some similarities in facts and parties, cannot reasonably be classified as related because they do not grow out of the same transaction or occurrence,” Kendall’s denial said. “Additionally, Broiler Chickens has proceeded much farther in litigation than this case has, so it is unlikely that reassigning the case … would save any judicial resources.”

What’s more, if Kendall granted Olean’s request it would likely delay the broiler chicken prices lawsuit, which is already more than four years old, the judge said.

Olean and Gross filed their class action lawsuit against Agri Stats, Butterball, Cargill, Cooper Farms, Farbest Foods, Foster Farms, the Hillshire Brands, Hormel Foods, House of Raeford Farms, Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods and several of their subsidiaries in December. The wholesalers claim Agri Stats and the turkey producers conspired to fix turkey prices in the U.S.

The defendants, said to make up about 80% of the turkey market, filed a motion to try to get the class action dismissed in June.

In late October, Kendall dismissed several of Olean’s claims, including those of unjust enrichments and consumer protection law violations in several states. She also carved Kraft Heinz Foods Co. out of the original list of defendants, finding the company does not supply turkeys.

Kendall allowed the bulk of the class action lawsuit over turkey prices to proceed.

In September 2016, Maplevale Farms of New York, one of the country’s leading food distributors, filed the antitrust class action lawsuit before Judge Durkin, accusing more than a dozen companies of conspiring to illegally manipulate broiler chicken supplies to fix their prices.

Among the defendants in that case are Koch Foods, Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms. Together, they produce an estimated 98% of the chicken meat sold in the United States and, according to the class action lawsuit, allegedly exchanged confidential production information in order to coordinate and control the supply.

Almost a year later, one of the defendants — Fieldale Farms Corp. — agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle the claims against it. The company also agreed under the terms of its settlement to provide phone records, financial statements and employee statements to the plaintiffs.

In other poultry litigation, Bob Evans, The Fresh Market and Wawa filed separate lawsuits in September against Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride and others on allegations of fixing chicken prices in the U.S.

Have you purchased a Butterball, Perdue or Tyson turkey, or a turkey from any of the other named defendants in the price-fixing class action lawsuit? Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Olean Wholesale Grocery and the rest of the proposed Class Members are represented by Steve W. Berman, Shana E. Scarlett and Rio S. Pierce of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP; W. Joseph Bruckner, Brian D. Clark, Maureen Kane Berg and Simeon Morbey of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP; Robert A. Clifford and Shannon M. McNulty of Clifford Law Offices PC; and Jonathan W. Cuneo and Blaine Finley of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP.

The Turkey Prices Class Action Lawsuit is Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative Inc., et al. v. Agri Stats, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-08318, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

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