Tyson Foods will pay $55 million and Cargill will pay $32.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by consumers who alleged the companies conspired to fix beef prices. The total settlement amount is $87.5 million, though both companies continue to deny any wrongdoing.
Here are the key details of the settlement:
Case origins: The lawsuit was filed in 2019 in a Minnesota federal court, accusing Tyson, Cargill, JBS USA, and National Beef Packing of artificially inflating beef prices by limiting the supply of cattle.
Plaintiffs: The settlement is for "Consumer Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs" in 26 states and the District of Columbia. These are consumers who bought fresh or frozen beef cuts from major retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Sam's Club between August 2014 and December 2019. Retailers themselves are not defendants.
Class size and damages: An estimated 36 million consumers could be eligible for compensation. While the settlement totals $87.5 million, an expert for the plaintiffs estimated the total consumer damages were closer to $1.9 billion.
Remaining defendants: The settlements with Tyson and Cargill are preliminary and still require judicial approval. The lawsuit will proceed against the remaining defendants, JBS USA and National Beef Packing.
Cooperation: As part of the settlement, Tyson and Cargill have agreed to cooperate with the consumer plaintiffs in their ongoing case against JBS and National Beef.
Separate cases: This is not the only price-fixing lawsuit involving these companies. Tyson recently settled a separate consumer pork price-fixing lawsuit for $85 million. JBS USA has also settled with ranchers in a related cattle price-fixing case for $83.5 million.
