A PYMNTS Company

JBS Settles Pork Price-Fixing Allegations

 |  September 19, 2022

In what has been an ongoing class-action lawsuit of pork price-fixing allegations, the JBS USA unit of Brazil’s JBS SA has been granted approval to settlement of $20 million by Judge John R. Turnheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, with nearly $7 million going towards attorney fees and costs.

Previously, JBS USA has paid $12.75 million to indirect purchasers and $24.5 million to direct purchasers, Agri-Pulse reports. In total, JBS USA has settled over $57 million in this case, In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, No. 18-01776.

Other defendants in this lawsuit include Hormel Foods Corp; WH Group Ltd’s Smithfield Foods Inc.; Clemens Food Group, LLC; Seaboard Foods LLC; Indiana Packers Corporation; Triumph Foods, LLC; and Tyson Foods Inc., among others, as well as data provider Agri Stats Inc.

“The settlement provides adequate relief for the class in the form of $20 million in monetary compensation and cooperation from JBS in the ongoing litigation,” the court documents state, provided by Agri-Pulse. “The monetary compensation provides substantial, more immediate, and certain relief to the class and eliminates the costs of prosecuting the case against the JBS Defendants.”

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.