The lawsuit accuses the Pittsburg, Texas-based company of fraud, deceit and misrepresentation. It was filed by chicken growers such as Robin Dunlap, who reported to the local media that grower losses are greater even than those of the plant employees who lost their jobs when Pilgrim's made its decision in August to idle the facility.

"This was 99 percent of our income," says Dunlap, who reported investing $500,000 into her farm. "They had promised us; we had been under the impression we were going to be getting chickens."

According to Pilgrim's Pride, the plant closings are part of an ongoing effort to return the company to profitability amid rising feed costs and an oversupply of chicken in the marketplace.

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