If you are a rancher, futures trader or cattle broker who sold fed cattle to any of the Big Four meatpackers—JBS, Tyson, Cargill or National Beef—from June 1, 2015 through Feb. 29, 2020, attorneys from Scott & Scott—the law firm handling an anti-trust lawsuit against them—have an important message for you: File now for a claim on a settlement fund that totals $83.5 million.
The settlement was announced back in February, but the judge only finalized approval recently, and the deadline for filing a claim is Sept. 15. To make a claim go to https://www.cattleantitrustsettlement.com/.
Antitrust lawsuits filed by R-CALF and others against the Big Four, alleging price-fixing of fed cattle and retail beef, were consolidated in 2019 the Minnesota federal district court. The case is titled In re: Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation.
JBS agreed to an $83.5 million class action settlement, but admitted no wrongdoing, saying that the settlement was “in the best interests of the company.” Litigation continues against the remaining defendants, with claims for eligible cattle feeders and futures traders now being accepted. McDonald’s has also filed a separate antitrust suit against the same four companies.
A hearing on class certification in the case will be held Nov. 3. Patrick McGahan, an attorney with Scott & Scott who gave a recent webinar hosted by the National Farmers Union on the settlement details, said he expects the hearing to be “a battle.” If the case goes all the way to trial, the earliest it would be held is next year.
To claim a share of the JBS settlement, producers will have to submit records of their sales. But don’t worry about “perfect” records, McGahan said. “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” he said. “Just do the best you can with the records you have.” The discovery phase generated nine million pages of documents, he said, so there are plenty of records to cross-reference. He recommended that interested parties call feedlot operators to see if they have records of sales.
There are some conditions and limitations. The sales only cover fed cattle between 700 and 900 pounds. The settlement doesn’t cover certain types of transactions, including cost-plus agreements and/or profit-sharing agreements, but McGahan said those are rare.
What if a rancher never sold any cattle to JBS? It doesn’t matter, according to McGahan, as long as he sold to any of the four defendants. That’s because cases of alleged price-fixing are governed by a legal concept called joint and several liability. Since it takes two or more parties to agree on anti-competitive behavior, all the defendants share liability for the harms they caused.
And that’s another good reason to file. If a rancher qualifies for the JBS settlement fund, he may also qualify for shares of later settlements if the other plaintiffs decide to settle.
Daniel Herrera, another Scott & Scott attorney who co-presented the webinar, said the legal team members are “dedicated to ensuring that all of you (ranchers and cattle brokers) get every penny to which you are entitled.”
McGahan said those who file a claim are not making any statements about the lawsuit itself and its merits, or about any defendant. Their names will not be revealed either to the court or the defendants. Even if they were, he assured listeners, he has never known of any retaliation in a case like this.
“It’s just never happened in my experience,” he said. “The defendants don’t care who files.”
David Murray can be reached at [email protected].
