A class action antitrust lawsuit was filed on behalf of Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs against Defendant Agri Stats, Inc., and Processor Defendants Butterball, Cargill, Cooper Farms, Inc., Farbest Foods, Inc., Foster Farms, Hormel (including Jennie-O Turkey Store, a subsidiary of Hormel), House of Raeford, Perdue, and Prestage (together, “Defendants”).
The lawsuit alleges Defendants and their co-conspirators entered into an agreement to exchange competitively sensitive and non-public information about production plans and pricing data through Defendant Agri Stats and Express Markets International, Inc. (EMI) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Agri Stats) to limit supply and increase prices in the turkey market. The Court has not decided whether Defendants did anything wrong and Defendants deny any wrong-doing.
The Court “certified” a class of commercial and institutional purchasers defined as: “All entities in the Indirect Purchaser States that indirectly purchased fresh or frozen, uncooked turkey breast, ground turkey, or whole bird turkey products sold by Defendants in the United States during the Class Period for their own use in commercial food preparation.”
Your decision to remain in the Certified Class or to exclude yourself will not affect your ability to participate in the previous Tyson settlement reached in this lawsuit.
Certain categories of persons and entities are specifically excluded from the Certified Class. These exclusions are explained in FAQ 6. Certain categories of products are excluded from the Class Products. These exclusions are explained in FAQ 5. The Indirect Purchaser States are also explained in FAQ 4.
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These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained further on the FAQ page.