Poultry workers' antitrust settlements push total to $217 million
Business
Poultry workers' antitrust settlements push total to $217 million
(Reuters) - Meat processors Mountaire Farms and Case Foods have agreed to pay a combined $22 million to resolve claims in US court that they conspired to suppress wages of poultry workers, pushing the total settlements in the litigation to more than $217 million.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys on Monday in a filing asked US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland to preliminarily approve the two new settlements, marking the 10th and 11th overall deals in the long-running case.
Mountaire agreed to pay $13.5 million, and Case said it would pay $8.5 million, the settlement papers showed. Both of the North Carolina-based companies in statements on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing and also said they agreed to settle to end the cost of further litigation.
The two companies are required to cooperate with the plaintiffs as part of the lawsuit, filed in 2019, against 10 remaining poultry processors.
“No matter how confident interim co-lead counsel are in this case, complex antitrust class actions are risky pieces of litigation,” a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Shana Scarlett, told the court in Monday’s filing. “The plaintiffs can never be entirely assured of a finding of liability by a jury.”
Scarlett did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The poultry workers’ alleged processors collectively aligned their pay as part of the conspiracy. The plaintiffs said that in a competitive market, the companies would have “vigorously” competed for labor, offering higher wages and benefits.
Trump, who is set to face President Joe Biden in the November US election, was found liable on February 16 for fraudulently inflating his net worth to secure better loan and insurance terms.
Gallagher has preliminarily approved other settlements including one from Perdue, which agreed to pay $60.6 million, and another from Sanderson, which resolved claims against it for $38.3 million. Wayne Farms said it would pay $31.5 million. None of the settling companies admitted liability.
As part of their cooperation deals, Mountaire and Case are required to help the plaintiffs by providing documents and other information in the ongoing case against companies that haven’t settled, including Tyson and other defendant families.
A spokesperson for Tyson on Tuesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiffs’ bid to win a court order certifying the case as a class action is due in June.
