Tyson Foods Inc. has reached a proposed agreement to pay $21 million to a group of broiler chicken producers that accused the company of suppressing compensation paid to them as part of a conspiracy with other processors. Plaintiffs in the case asked a federal judge to approve the settlement and certify the class to be compensated.
Plaintiffs Haff Poultry Inc., Nancy Butler, Johnny Upchurch, Jonathan Walters, Myles Weaver, Melissa Weaver, Marc McEntire, Karen McEntire, Mitchell Mason, Anna Mason, Barry Mason, Jonathan Tipton, and Henry Randall Colvin filed their first complaint in the lawsuit more than four years ago, on Jan. 27, 2017. The plaintiffs allege that Tyson Foods and 17 co-conspirators, including Perdue Foods LLC and other leading poultry processors, engaged in an overarching conspiracy to suppress compensation paid to broiler farmers nationwide in violation of the Sherman Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act.
