Cargill and Tyson settle beef price-fixing lawsuit for $87.5 million 

A settlement has been reached this week in a federal lawsuit that was launched by beef consumers alleging Tyson Foods and Cargill colluded to inflate meat prices at the grocery store by limiting beef supplies between August 2014 and December 2019.  

Through the settlement, Tyson agreed to pay $55 million and Cargill will pay $32.5 million to consumers. The settlement is pending court approval in a federal court in Minnesota. This price price-fixing litigation has been ongoing since 2019.  

The members of the class action lawsuit include consumers who purchased beef products between 2014 and 2019 from grocery chains like Walmart and Costco. The retailers are not included in the litigation. According to lawyers handling the case, there are an estimated 36 million potential class members in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The attorneys that pursued the case are expected to receive 33.3% of the settlement for their legal fees, which comes to about $29 million. 

Both companies deny wrongdoing, but have also agreed to assist the consumer plaintiffs in pursuing price-fixing litigation against JBS USA and National Beef Packing, which are accused in a similar lawsuit. JBS and National Beef also deny the accusations made against them. 

Last week Tyson agreed to pay $85 million in a settlement for a different lawsuit brought by consumers who allege the food processing giant conspired to inflate pork prices. The company denies these allegations as well.  

JBS settled for $83.5 million earlier in 2025 for a separate price-fixing lawsuit, which was brought by the National Farmers Union, R-CALF USA, and four ranchers. JBS denied wrongdoing in that suit as well. More settlements with various legal cases are expected in the future. 

Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].

PHOTO: (Jason Leung via Unsplash.)