On Wednesday, March 5th, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin of the Northern District of Illinois granted preliminary approval of over $41 million in settlements between commercial and institutional indirect purchasers (CIIPs) and several major chicken producers, bringing the total recovery for the CIIPs to more than $145 million in a significant win for the businesses allegedly harmed by years of illegal price-fixing.
The monetary settlements resolve claims against Harrison Poultry, House of Raeford, Koch Foods, Mountaire, O.K. Foods, Sanderson Farms, and Simmons Foods. These agreements, according to Judge Durkin, fall well within the range of reasonableness, particularly given the complexity and risks of continuing to trial.
Judge Durkin specifically noted the heightened litigation risk surrounding Sanderson Farms, which had previously defeated direct purchaser claims at trial but opted to resolve its dispute with the CIIPs. “I think the litigation risk relating to Sanderson is even greater for CIIPs…than other defendants who had not gone to trial,” Judge Durkin stated, affirming the strategic and well-informed nature of the settlements.
These victories come after nearly a decade of hard-fought litigation that began in 2016, when plaintiffs filed suit alleging the nation’s largest chicken producers conspired to artificially limit chicken supply and share sensitive production data to drive up prices. What followed was one of the most complex antitrust cases in recent history, involving multiple classes and parallel tracks of litigation.
As trial loomed in March 2024, counsel for the CIIPs worked diligently to secure meaningful recoveries for the class, ensuring relief without subjecting the case to the uncertainties of trial. Judge Durkin commended this approach, recognizing the substantial benefit to the class: “It’s a lot of money being paid out to them,” he remarked.
These settlements, combined with agreements from Agri Stats, Case Foods, Claxton Poultry, Foster Farms, Perdue, and Wayne Farms—who agreed to waive recoverable fees and costs in exchange for the CIIPs not appealing summary judgment rulings—help bring closure to sprawling litigation that has spanned nearly a decade.
WBE was appointed Liaison Counsel for the class and worked in tandem with co-lead counsel Gustafson Gluek and Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP. The case, Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, case number 16-cv-08637, is in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.