Minnesota federal court issues latest pork pricing notice

MINNEAPOLIS — The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota recently issued notice of a class action antitrust lawsuit on behalf of commercial and institutional indirect purchasers who are plaintiffs in connection with pork products purchased for business use in commercial food production.

In previous information regarding the lawsuit, the plaintiffs sought companies that purchased raw pork belly, fresh or frozen tenderloins, ribs, hams or pork chops between June 28, 2014 and June 30, 2018 as part of the compensation group.

The notice names as defendants Clemens Food Group LLC, Hormel Foods Corp., Seaboard Foods LLC, Triumph Foods LLC, Tyson Foods Inc. and Agri Stats Inc.

Court documents allege that the defendants and others conspired to raise prices on pork products nationwide, violating federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust, consumer protection, unfair trade practices and unjust enrichment laws. Throughout the case, the defendants continue to deny all wrongdoing.

For purposes of this notice, the prescriptive class excludes products marketed as organic and/or antibiotic-free, and any products other than bacon that are marinated, seasoned, flavored or breaded, but does include raw and cooked ham with added water.

Class members from certain states are still eligible to recover money from the settlement, including Arkansas, Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and/or Wisconsin. The class period for class members from Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee begins June 28, 2015.

If plaintiffs wish to be excluded from this particular lawsuit and pursue a separate case, they must file a motion to exclude by August 23, 2024.

In the past few years, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods, other major U.S. pork processors, have reached settlements in separate cases involving direct-buyer pork prices. In 2022, JBS USA settled for $20 million, and Smithfield settled for $83 million. The following year, Smithfield agreed to a $75 million settlement.

Seaboard reached a settlement with a group of direct purchasers for $9.75 million in June 2023.

In March 2023, a Minnesota judge granted a motion to certify three groups of class actions.