Court: United States District Court, District of Minnesota
In re: DPP Beef Litigation, Case No. 20-cv-01319-JRT-HB
Leadership Position: Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
WBE and co-counsel are representing a class of direct purchasers who allege that Defendants Cargill, JBS, Tyson and National Beef Packing Company conspired to fix and maintain the price of beef in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act federal antitrust law. This unlawful conduct resulted in Plaintiffs suffering antitrust injury by being forced to pay supercompetitive prices for beef due to artificially constrained beef supplies in the United States.
On August 31, 2022, the Court approved a settlement with the JBS Defendants for $52.5 million in exchange for a release of claims from the settlement class against JBS. As a condition of the settlement, JBS is required to provide specified cooperation in the continued litigation against the remaining defendants. Additional information on this settlement can be found at the settlement website: https://beefdirectpurchasersettlement.com/.
Plaintiffs defeated a motion to dismiss, and the case is currently proceeding against the remaining defendants through discovery and Plaintiffs are pursuing certification of a nationwide class.