This class action is called In re: Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation (End-User Consumer Action), Case No. 1:16-cv-08637 (N.D. Ill.) and is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Durkin is in charge of this class action.

End-User Consumer Plaintiffs allege that Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired to restrict the supply of, and fix, raise, and stabilize the price of chicken, as of January 1, 2009, in violation of federal and state consumer and antitrust laws.

The Defendants and co-conspirators are chicken processors in the United States. In this notice, “Settling Defendants” refers to Fieldale, George’s, Mar-Jac, Peco, Pilgrim’s, and Tyson. “Non-Settling Defendants” refers to Agri Stats, Inc.; Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc.; Foster Farms, LLC, and Foster Poultry Farms; Harrison Poultry, Inc. and House of Raeford Farms, Inc.; JCG Foods of Alabama, LLC, JCG Foods of Georgia, LLC, Koch Foods, Inc., and Koch Meats Co., Inc.; Mountaire Farms, Inc., Mountaire Farms, LLC, and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc.; O.K. Foods, Inc., O.K. Farms, Inc., and O.K. Industries, Inc.; Perdue Farms, Inc. and Perdue Foods LLC; Sanderson Farms, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Foods Division), Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division), and Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Production Division); Wayne Farms, LLC; and Simmons Foods, Inc. and Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc.

End-User Consumer Plaintiffs have reached Settlements with the Settling Defendants, but the End-User Consumers’ case is proceeding against the Non-Settling Defendants. Those other Non-Settling Defendants may be subject to separate settlements, judgments, or class certification orders. If applicable, you will receive a separate notice regarding the progress of the litigation and any resolution of claims against other Non-Settling Defendants.

Settling Defendants have not admitted any liability and continue to deny all allegations of wrongdoing in this lawsuit and would allege numerous defenses to Plaintiffs’ claims if the case against it were to proceed.

On May 27, 2022, Judge Thomas M. Durkin issued an Order certifying a class of indirect purchasers generally defined as: “All persons and entities who indirectly purchased the following types of raw chicken, whether fresh or frozen: whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, breast cuts or tenderloin cuts, but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, organic, diced, minced, ground, seasoned, flavored, or breaded—from defendants or co-conspirators for personal consumption in the Repealer Jurisdictions from January 1, 2012, to July 31, 2019” (the “Certified Class”).

The notice provides Settlement Class members with an opportunity to opt out of the Certified Class defined above. If you exclude yourself from the Certified Class, you will not be able to recover any award from any future settlements or judgments obtained by the lawyers for the Class, if settlements or judgments occur. Your decision to exclude yourself (or not) from the Certified Class will not affect your ability to participate in the previous settlements reached in this litigation.

You may continue to file claims for the prior settlements and doing so will automatically include you in any future settlement(s) or judgment(s). If you already filed a claim, you do not need to file another claim.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people or businesses called “class representatives” sue on behalf of others who have similar claims, all of whom together are a “class.” Individual Settlement Class members do not have to file a lawsuit to participate in the class action settlement, or be bound by the judgment in the class action. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the class, except for those who exclude themselves from the class.

The Court did not decide in favor of End-User Consumer Plaintiffs or Settling Defendants. End-User Consumer Plaintiffs believe they may have won at trial and possibly obtained a greater recovery. Settling Defendants believe the End-User Consumer Plaintiffs may not have won at a trial and that End-User Consumer Plaintiffs would have recovered nothing against them. But litigation involves risks to both sides, and therefore End-User Consumer Plaintiffs and Settling Defendants have agreed to the Settlements. The Settlements required Settling Defendants to pay money, as well as provide specified cooperation (as set forth in the Settlement Agreements) in the End-User Consumer Plaintiffs’ continued prosecution of the litigation. End-User Consumer Plaintiffs and their attorneys believe the Settlements are in the best interests of all Settlement Class members.

The Court has not yet ordered that payment be made to class members. Please check back here for updates.

The Court decided that, for settlement purposes, members of the Settlement Class are defined as: All persons and entities who indirectly purchased fresh or frozen raw chicken (defined as whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, or “white meat” parts including breasts and wings (or cuts containing a combination of these), but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, or organic) from Defendants or alleged co-conspirators for personal consumption, where the person or entity purchased in California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island (after July 15, 2013), South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin from January 1, 2009 (except for Rhode Island, which is from July 15, 2013), to July 31, 2019.

The Pilgrim’s Settlement covers claims for the period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2020. You are eligible to recover money if you purchased whole chicken, chicken breasts, or wings while a resident of one of the following states: California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. These states allow for standing of End-User Consumers, the class alleged here. Governmental and public entities are not included in the Settlement Class and are not eligible Settlement Class members.

While these Settlements are only with Settling Defendants, the Settlement Class includes persons who purchased chicken products from any of the Non-Settling Defendants or their alleged co-conspirators. If you are a member of the Settlement Class and do not exclude yourself, you may be eligible to participate in (or exclude yourself from) any additional settlements which may arise with any other Non-Settling Defendants in the case.

On May 27, 2022, Judge Thomas M. Durkin issued an Order certifying a class of indirect purchasers generally defined as: “All persons and entities who indirectly purchased the following types of raw chicken, whether fresh or frozen: whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, breast cuts or tenderloin cuts, but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, organic, diced, minced, ground, seasoned, flavored, or breaded—from defendants or co-conspirators for personal consumption in the Repealer Jurisdictions from January 1, 2012, to July 31, 2019” (the “Certified Class”).

The “Repealer Jurisdictions” are: California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.

If you are still not sure if you are included in the Settlement or Certified Class es, please review the detailed information contained on the Important Documents page of this website.

If the Settlements are approved, Tyson will pay $99,000,000, Pilgrim’s will pay $75,500,000, George’s will pay $1,900,000, Peco will pay $1,900,000, Fieldale will pay $1,700,000, and Mar-Jac will pay $1,000,000. These Settlements would resolve all Settlement Class members’ claims against the Settling Defendants for the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreements). In addition to this monetary benefit, Settling Defendants have also agreed to provide specified cooperation (as set forth in the Settlement Agreements) in the End-User Consumer Plaintiffs’ continued prosecution of the litigation.

No money will be distributed yet. Co-Lead Counsel will continue to pursue the lawsuit against the Non-Settling Defendants. A portion of the Settlement Proceeds has been and will be used by the Claims Administrator for notice and administration costs. Additionally, Co-Lead Counsel may request that the Court award attorneys’ fees and permit the reimbursement of certain litigation costs and expenses. If such request is made at this time, it will be filed at least fourteen days before the objection deadline and posted on this website at that time. Co-Lead Counsel will not seek more than 33.3% of the Settlement Fund or $60,273,000 as attorneys’ fees, or $8.75 million as the total amount of costs. Co-Lead Counsel will request service awards of up to $2,000 on behalf of each Class Representative. All Settlement funds that remain after payment of the Court-ordered attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses will be distributed to Settlement Class members on a pro rata basis at the conclusion of the lawsuit or as ordered by the Court.

*NOTE: If you have already submitted a claim, please do not submit another claim. If you have not submitted a claim in the prior settlements, you are encouraged to do so now.

To be eligible to receive a payment from any of the Settlements, you must complete and submit a timely Claim Form. If you submit a timely claim, you will automatically participate in any funds received in future settlements unless you opt-out of the Certified Class. Submit your Claim Form online at www.overchargedforchicken.com. Or fill out the Claim Form, and mail it to the address below:

Broiler Chicken Consumer Litigation
c/o A.B. Data, Ltd.
P.O. Box 173045
Milwaukee, WI 53217

If you do not submit a valid Claim Form by the time the claim filing period ends, you will not receive a payment from any of the Settlements, but you will be bound by the Court’s judgment in these actions.

In light of the Order Certifying the Class against Non-Settling Defendants, payments from the Settlements are not scheduled to be distributed at this time. Updates will be provided on the Settlement website at www.overchargedforchicken.com or may be obtained by contacting the Claims Administrator.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the prior settlements in this matter has passed.

If you do not want to remain a member of the Certified Class and you do not want to be legally bound by the terms of any potential settlements or judgments, or if you wish to pursue your own separate lawsuit against Defendants, you must exclude yourself by submitting a written request to the Claims Administrator stating your intent to exclude yourself from the Certified Class (an “Exclusion Request”).

Your Exclusion Request must include the following: (a) your name and address; (b) a statement that you want to be excluded from the End-User Consumer Certified Class in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation (End-User Consumer Action); and (c) your signature. You must mail your Exclusion Request, postmarked by April 4, 2023, to: Broiler Chicken Consumer Litigation, Attn: EXCLUSIONS, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173001, Milwaukee, WI 53217.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue the Non-Settling Defendants for the claims set forth in the litigation. If you have a pending lawsuit against one or more of the Non-Settling Defendants, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately to determine whether you must exclude yourself from this Class to continue your own lawsuit against Non-Settling Defendants.

The deadline to object to the prior settlements has passed.

The Court has appointed Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC as Co-Lead Counsel for the Settlement Class and the Certified Class. If you wish to remain a member of the Certified Class, you do not need to hire your own lawyer because Co-Lead Counsel is working on your behalf. If you wish to pursue your own case separate from this one, or if you exclude yourself from the Certified Class, these lawyers will no longer represent you. You will need to hire your own lawyer if you wish to pursue your own lawsuit against Non-Settling Defendants.

For the Settling Defendants, Co-Lead Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees at the fairness hearing, or at a later date, based on their services in this litigation, not to exceed 33.3% of the Settlement Funds (up to $60,273,000), and may ask to be reimbursed for up to $8.75 million in current and ongoing litigation expenses, and up to $2,000 in service awards for each of the plaintiffs serving as class representatives. Any payment to the attorneys will be subject to Court approval, and the Court may award less than the requested amount. The attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses that the Court orders, plus the costs to administer the Settlements, will come out of the Settlement Fund. Co-Lead Counsel may seek additional attorneys’ fees, costs, and litigation expenses from any other settlements or recoveries obtained in the future. When Co-Lead Counsel’s motion for fees, costs, and litigation expenses is filed, a copy will be available on this website. The motion will be posted on the website at least 14 days before the deadline for objecting, commenting on, or excluding yourself from the Settlements. You will have an opportunity to comment on this request.

For the Certified Class (Non-Settling Defendants) - In the event of a future settlement or judgment, Co-Lead Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees based on their services in this litigation. Any payment to the attorneys will be subject to Court approval. You will not be responsible for paying Co-Lead Counsel directly.

The Court held a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlements (the “Fairness Hearing”) on December 20, 2021, at 9:00 a.m., at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Courtroom 1441, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604. At this hearing, the Court considered whether the Settlements are fair, reasonable, and adequate. After the hearing, the Court decided to approve the Settlements.

The Fairness Hearing for the prior Settlements has already taken place. If additional settlements are reached you will be notified of the time, date and location of any Fairness Hearing.

You are not required to attend the Hearing. Co-Lead Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection to any future Settlement, should one be reached, you do not have to come to court to talk about it. As long as you followed the prescribed method of submission, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it’s not necessary.

More details are available in the Notices, Orders, and Settlement Agreements available on this website. If you have a specific question that is not addressed in these documents, you may contact the Claims Administrator using the information on the “Contact” page of this website.