US poultry major Pilgrim’s Pride has reportedly settled a long-running legal dispute from chicken farmers who claimed it conspired with peers to underpay them.
News agency Reuters reported Pilgrim’s, majority owned by Brazil’s JBS, has agreed to pay $100m to settle the claims while denying any wrongdoing.
The case, Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation, dates back seven years and has already been settled by other major US meatpackers Tyson Foods, Sanderson Farms, Koch Foods and Perdue Foods.
Reuters said the total payout to farmers will be £169m, if the Pilgrim’s Pride settlement receives final approval.
A preliminary settlement between KFC supplier Pilgrim’s and lawyers representing the farmers was filed on Friday with the US District Court in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
The lawsuit was based on accusations that large poultry producers conspired to keep farmers’ pay artificially low by sharing confidential information about compensation and by agreeing not to actively recruit each others’ farmers.
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Reuters quoted Gary Smith, a lawyer for the farmers, calling the settlement an “outstanding” result.
The settlement covers 24,354 growers from 27 January 2013 through 31 December 2019.
Just Food has asked Pilgrim’s Pride for its comments in relation to the settlement.
