Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 10/3/11


A federal magistrate in Texas has ordered Pilgrim’s Pride to pay more than $25 million in damages to contract poultry growers over the company’s decision to close a plant in El Dorado, Ark., in 2009.

The Marshall, Texas, magistrate found that Pilgrim’s Pride was guilty of trying to manipulate chicken prices by shutting down the facility based on internal company memos that were submitted as evidence during the trial. Growers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas had filed lawsuits accusing Pilgrim’s Pride of violating the Fair Trade Practices Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act by discriminating against specific growers and illegally manipulating chicken prices.

The judge found for the growers in Arkansas, but the suits filed by growers in other states are still pending. Pilgrim’s Pride has not yet responded to the magistrate’s ruling, which was issued Friday but released to some plaintiffs attorneys until Sunday.

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