JBS agrees to Settlement in Cattle Antitrust Class Action

JBS USA Food Co., Swift Beef Co., JBS Packerland Inc. and JBS S.A. (collectively, "JBS") have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against them by cattle plaintiffs who allege that defendants JBS, Tyson, Cargill and National Beef — the four largest meat packers — conspired to eliminate or reduce competition among them for the purchase of fed cattle, thereby artificially reducing the price cattle feeders received for their fed cattle.

Cattle plaintiffs brought a separate but related claim under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), alleging that the defendants manipulated the price of exchange-traded Live Cattle contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), according to an announcement by Angeion Group, an independent, internationally recognized settlement administration company for class action and mass tort administration.

Cattle plaintiffs are Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA); Farmers Educational & Cooperative Union of America; Weinreis Brothers Partnership; Minatare Feedlot Inc.; Charles Weinreis, Eric Nelson, James Jensen d/b/a Lucky 7 Angus, and Richard Chambers as trustee of the Richard C. Chambers Living Trust.

JBS denies any liability, fault or wrongdoing in connection with the allegations in the action, the news release said.  Litigation remains ongoing against the non-settling defendants, Tyson Foods Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Cargill Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. and National Beef Packing Co. LLC.

JBS will pay $83,500,000 into a Settlement Fund to settle the class action antitrust, PSA and CEA claims against them and to provide certain cooperation to cattle plaintiffs in this litigation against the remaining defendants and in to distribute the net settlement amount.

Eligibility to receive a payment from the Net Settlement Fund includes directly selling to a defendant one or more fed cattle for slaughter from June 1, 2015, to Feb. 29, 2020, other than pursuant to a cost-plus agreement and/or a profit sharing agreement; and/or (ii) holding a long position in live cattle futures traded on the CME prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidating the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to Nov. 1, 2016. Claim forms must be submitted electronically or postmarked by mail by Sept. 15, 2025, to receive a payment from the fund.

A fairness hearing will be held Aug. 15, 2025, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis to decide whether to approve the settlement and grant the requested attorneys' fees, litigation expenses and proposed plan of allocation and distribution.

For more information, including the full notice and settlement agreement, visit www.CattleAntitrustSettlement.com.

Articles on The Cattle Range are published because of interesting content but don't necessarily reflect the views of The Cattle Range.