MINNEAPOLIS –After coming to an initial agreement in April, Smithfield Foods settled a $42 million lawsuit with foodservice operators who indirectly purchased pork from Smithfield Foods or co-conspirators or their respective subsidiaries or US affiliates for their own business use in commercial food preparation.

The agreement came after a 2021 lawsuit when Smithfield said it would pay $83 million to settle a court case that involved direct-purchaser class claims involving multiple companies in the pork industry. 

Other defendants in similar pork litigation include Hormel Foods Corp., Tyson Foods Inc. and data provider Agri Stats. There is still ongoing litigation regarding commercial and other indirect pork purchasers. 

The settlement is not an admission or evidence of wrongdoing by Smithfield or of the truth of any of the plaintiffs’ claims or allegations, according to the court documents.

Several price-fixing lawsuits have been filed against poultry producers in recent years. Nearly $200 million in settlements have been approved for those industry cases.