By Jonathan Stempel Jan 11 (Reuters) - Pilgrim's Pleasure C
By Jonathan Stempel
Jan 11 (Reuters) – Pilgrim’s Pleasure Corp PPC.O and Tyson Meals Inc TSN.N stated on Monday they’ve settled price-fixing litigation by a gaggle of poultry patrons that accused them of violating U.S. antitrust legislation by conspiring to inflate hen costs.
Pilgrim’s Pleasure, owned primarily by Brazil’s JBS SA JBSS3.SA, can pay $75 million to settle claims by purchasers that purchased chickens straight from the corporate. The scale of Tyson’s settlement with the identical purchasers was not disclosed.
Neither firm admitted legal responsibility, and each stated settling was of their finest pursuits.
Each settlements require approval by a federal decide in Chicago.
Neither impacts claims by “oblique” purchasers, which embrace restaurant and grocery store operators akin to Chick-fil-A, Kroger Co KR.N and Goal Inc TGT.N in addition to odd shoppers.
In addition they don’t have an effect on claims towards different defendants, akin to Sanderson Farms Inc SAFM.O and Perdue Farms Inc.
Pilgrim’s settlement is the biggest in additional than 4 years of litigation by eating places, supermarkets and meals distributors over alleged price-fixing within the $65 billion hen trade.
A couple of smaller hen producers beforehand reached comparable settlements totaling $13 million.
Comparable litigation has been pending in Minneapolis federal court docket accusing Tyson, one other JBS unit and different pork producers of conspiring to inflate pork costs by limiting provide.
The Pilgrim’s settlement follows that firm’s settlement in October to pay a $110.5 million superb to resolve a U.S. Division of Justice legal price-fixing probe.
Final 12 months, the Justice Division additionally filed legal price-fixing and bid-rigging expenses in Denver towards 10 poultry trade executives. All have pleaded not responsible.
The case is In re Broiler Rooster Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court docket, Northern District of Illinois, No. 16-08637.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; enhancing by Richard Pullin)
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