Cargill has agreed to pay $32.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accuses the company of conspiring with other companies to fix the price of turkey.
According to a document filed in the United States District Court, Northern Illinois District, Eastern Division, Cargill and the plaintiff class of direct purchasers agreed to the settlement in which Cargill would deposit that sum into an escrow account for the benefit of the settlement class. The offer remains subject to approval by a final court order.
Cargill is the second defendant company in the suit that dates back to 2019 to offer settlement. According to the court document, Tyson Foods previously offered to settle for an amount of $4,625,000.
Attorneys for Cargill said the company believes it has a strong case to prove its innocence of any wrongdoing, but that it entered into a settlement agreement “in the interests of avoiding the risk and uncertainty of continued litigation.
According to Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, which is representing the plaintiffs, other defendant companies include Agri Stats, Butterball, Foster Farms, Hormel Foods (parent company of Jennie-O Turkey Store), Perdue Farms and Kraft Heinz.
Cargill, according to information from the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database, is the third largest turkey company in the United States. During the past year, it produced 793.41 pounds of live turkeys. Its turkey products are marketed under the brands Honeysuckle White, Shady Brook Farms, Honest Turkey, Charter Reserve and Castlewood Reserve.
