Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 5/8/19


Tyson Foods said the Department of Justice has issued a grand jury subpoena to plaintiffs in the class action price-fixing lawsuit against the chicken industry that requests information produced in the discovery process by all parties in the case.

Tyson, in a regulatory filing, said it was notified of the request on April 26 by the plaintiffs.

The litigation is currently in the discovery phase, Tyson said in its update. Decisions on class certification and summary judgment motions likely to be filed by defendants are not expected before the latter part of calendar year 2020, under the scheduling order currently governing the case, the company said.

Scheduling for trial, if necessary, will occur after rulings on class certification and any summary judgment motions.

In September 2016, Maplevale Farms filed a class action complaint against Tyson and several other poultry processing companies in the northern district of Illinois. Additional lawsuits making similar claims have since been filed, and the court consolidated the complaints into three classes: direct purchasers, indirect purchasers and consumers, and commercial/institutional indirect purchasers.

The current operative complaints, known as In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, allege, among other things, that beginning in January 2008, the defendants conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize the price of broiler chickens in violation of United States antitrust laws.

Tyson, along with other beef packers, are also facing a lawsuit alleging antitrust violations for allegedly paying U.S. ranchers unlawfully depressed cattle prices and a class action suit accusing the companies of fixing prices that consumers pay for beef products.

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