Sanderson Farms and Perdue Reach Antitrust Class Action Settlement

A federal judge approved a settlement Tuesday ending an antitrust lawsuit accusing Sanderson Farm Inc.Perdue Farms Inc. and other poultry companies have been accused of using anti-competitive practices to raise the price of broiler chickens.

Judge Thomas Durkin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the “direct purchaser” plaintiff’s motion in the case for final approval of the settlement with 15 defendants. The defendants are Case Foods Inc., Claxton Poultry Farms Inc., Foster Farms LLC, Perdue Farms Inc. and Sanderson Farms. At this point in the litigation, which began in 2016, the certified direct purchaser class has one existing legal dispute…