Settlements Reached with Agri Stats in Broilers, Turkey, Pork Antitrust Suits Over Price-Fixing Allegations

CHICAGO – Hagens Berman, co-lead counsel for classes in In re Broilers Antitrust Litigation, In re Turkey Antitrust Litigation and In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, today announced settlements reached with defendant Agri Stats, Inc. in each of these antitrust class-action lawsuits, pending in both the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The three lawsuits allege similar claims: Agri Stats conspired with meat processors to illegally stabilize prices and supply in violation of the Sherman Act, which artificially raised the cost of food for buyers and consumers.

The settlements with Agri Stats, subject to court approval, contain significant conduct reform measures to prohibit future anticompetitive behavior in the protein industry. Further details will be disclosed as part of the preliminary approval process.

The impact of the protein price-fixing cases, specifically In Re Pork Antitrust Litigation, extends well beyond the agriculture industry. During the pendency of the litigation, the Department of Justice revisited its information-sharing guidelines and triggered broad policy reform concerning data sharing across all industries nationwide, including:

• The withdrawal of safe harbor guidelines that provided “safety zones” for competitor collaborations;
• Increased scrutiny of third-party benchmarking data firms (such as Agri Stats) that share pricing, cost or compensation data; and
• Expanded oversight of how companies use data, including AI and algorithms.

“These cases have directly contributed to a public shift in policy on how sensitive competitive data can be used — and that impact extends well beyond the agriculture industry,” said Shana Scarlett, partner at Hagens Berman and co-lead counsel for the classes. “We’re proud of that, and of the lasting conduct reforms this settlement imposes on Agri Stats. Companies can no longer assume that pooling competitor data through a third-party insulates them from antitrust liability.”

To date, Hagens Berman and its co-counsel across these cases have recovered over $450 million for class members. Public settlements in In Re Pork Antitrust Litigation amount to $207 million, $203 million has been recovered on behalf of the consumer class in In re Broilers Antitrust Litigation over and nearly $36 million has been recovered in In Re Turkey Antitrust Litigation. Litigation continues against remaining defendants in the Turkey Antitrust Litigation with a trial scheduled for October 2026.

According to the lawsuits, in 2009, Agri Stats began supplying sensitive financial data and reporting via paid subscription to processors in the chicken, pork and turkey industries. Agri Stats’ reports showed detailed financial and production data from each player, which plaintiffs allege allowed the co-conspirators to monitor each other’s production to control supply and price. The lawsuits state that the defendant companies paid millions of dollars since 2009 to subscribe to Agri Stats’ reports.

The firm also served as co-lead counsel in two antitrust cases that alleged wage suppression using the Agri Stats reports, Judy Jien, et al., v. Perdue Farms, Inc., et al., No 1:19-cv-2521-SAG (D. Md.)  and Ron Brown, et al., v. JBS USA Food Company, et al., No. 1:22-cv-02946-PAB-STV (D. Colo.). These cases allege that major poultry and meat processors used Agri Stats and another information sharing service, WMS, to underpay employees for years. The poultry case has reached $398.05 million in final court-approved settlements, and the red meat litigation has secured $202.7 million in preliminary settlements. Hagens Berman also reached settlements with Agri Stats in these two cases to remove the labor information from the reports. On March 8, 2026, the Agri Stats settlement in Jien v. Perdue Farms received final approval by the District Court of Maryland. To date, firm settlements in cases involving Agri Stats total over $1 billion dollars.

Information for Class Members

Class members do not need to take any action at this time. If the court grants preliminary approval, eligible class members will be notified with further instructions on how to submit a claim.

Information for the price-fixing cases is available through the settlement websites at turkeylitigation.com and overchargedforpork.com.

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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