CHICAGO – Institutional indirect purchaser plaintiffs (IIPPs) in a lawsuit claiming Tyson Foods conspired to fix prices for turkey announced an “ice breaker” settlement of $1.75 million.
Sandee’s Bakery and Gnemi LLC (doing business as Logan Farms) filed notice with US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of the IIPP class. The court document states that all parties are working to finalize the deal. The plaintiffs will ask the court, on behalf of the IIPP class, to approve the settlement when terms are finalized.
The IIPPs bought turkey other than directly from Tyson Foods or the alleged co-conspirators. The plaintiffs allege that Tyson and their co-conspirators entered into an information exchange agreement that reduced or suppressed competition in the market for turkey. Under the terms of the settlement, Tyson admits no wrongdoing, but will provide meaningful cooperation which will assist the IIPPs in the prosecution of their claims against the remaining defendants.
Tyson’s cooperation includes providing IIPPs with:
- documents and data related to Tyson’s sales of turkey during the relevant time period,
- documents from two mutually agreed-upon document custodians responsive to the parties’ agreed upon search terms,
- direct communications between competitors relating to Turkey from two mutually agreed-upon document custodians,
- any documents it produces to any other party in connection with this litigation, including any documents it produced to a State Attorney General or the US Department of Justice regarding an investigation into the turkey industry, and
- any information or proffers given to any plaintiff in matters substantially similar to this litigation.
In May, Tyson Foods and a group of direct purchasers reached a proposed settlement of $4,625,000.
