On Feb. 20, the cattle plaintiffs in the In re: Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation against JBS, Tyson, Cargill and National Beef received preliminary approval of an $83.5 million settlement with JBS and ranchers can submit claims, according to a news release from National Farmers Union.
The class action lawsuit, filed in 2019 by National Farmers Union, R-CALF USA and four individual ranchers, alleges anticompetitive conduct in the cattle market. Eligible parties may now submit claims under the terms of the JBS settlement.
The court’s action establishes certain deadlines for persons who may be eligible to share in the JBS settlement.
The settlement classes covered by the proposed settlement include, subject to certain exclusions and conditions, all persons or entities: a) within the U.S. that directly sold fed cattle for slaughter to Tyson, JBS, Cargill and/or National Beef from June 1, 2015, to Feb. 29, 2020, other than pursuant to a cost-plus agreement and/or a profit sharing agreement; b) who held a long position in live cattle futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidated the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to Nov. 1, 2016. The deadline to submit claims is Sept. 15, 2025.
The settlement website, www.CattleAntitrustSettlement.com, informs both cattle feeders and futures traders of the details of the settlement. The website also provides instructions as to how claims can be filed, and how persons can object or opt out of the settlement.
NFU urges those who meet the settlement classes’ description above to review the information on the website and submit claims before the Sept. 15 deadline.
As noted in the claim form, any information feeders and futures traders submit in connection with their claim “will be maintained confidentially and will not be made available publicly or to any Defendant.”
R-CALF USA also encouraged ranchers to visit the website and carefully review information and timelines in advance of the filing deadline.
“We filed this case after witnessing the inexplicable collapse of fed cattle prices beginning in 2015,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard in a news release. “Our case has been working its way through the court for six years now and we will continue in our effort to recover as much as we can for American cattlemen.”
The cattle plaintiffs are represented by Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP and Robins Kaplan LLP. The court has appointed a claims administrator who can answer any questions potential class members may have about the JBS settlement, including any questions regarding how to submit a claim to share in the JBS settlement. The claims administrator can be reached at 1-844-435-8844 or [email protected].
