An additional nine broiler or turkey integrators have settled for a total of $180 million arising from claims of conspiracy to set wage rates. Defendants with their payments included the following companies with the agreed quantum in descending order in parentheses:-
Tyson Foods and Keystone Foods (combining $115.5 million); Koch Foods ($18.5 million), Foster Poultry Farms ($13.3 million), Butterball ($8.5 million), Amick Farms ($6.3 million), Fieldale Farms ($5.5 million), Allen Harim ($5.0 million), O.K. Foods ($4.8 million), Jennie-O Turkey Store ($3.5 million).
Plaintiffs claimed that both direct collusion occurred among defendants at industry meetings in addition to direct contacts that compared rates and established “no poach” agreements. A significant component of the lawsuit was the availability of wage rates received as subscribers to AgriStats® a proprietary benchmark price discovery service.
Total settlements to date have exceeded $400 million. This makes Agristats® an expensive subscription not to mention the annual meetings on the Gulf Coast.
Courts have yet to try the case against Agristats® and possibly consider the liability of Elanco Animal Health, owner of the company during part of the period when the alleged collusion occurred.