Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC Announce Certification of Class for Consumers Who Purchased Chicken Products

USA - English

• USA - español

CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 

COURT-APPROVED LEGAL NOTICE

If you purchased raw chicken in the United States from January 1, 2012 through July 31, 2019, a class action may affect your rights.

Para una notificación in español, llame gratis al 1-877-888-5428
o visite nuestro website www.overchargedforchicken.com.

The purpose of this notice is to inform you of your rights related to the class action lawsuit entitled In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation (End-User Consumer Action), N.D. Ill. Case No. 1:16-cv-08637, pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the "Court"). On May 27, 2022, Judge Thomas M. Durkin issued an Order certifying a class of indirect purchasers defined as: "All persons and entities who indirectly purchased the following types of raw chicken, whether fresh or frozen: whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, breast cuts or tenderloin cuts, but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, organic, diced, minced, ground, seasoned, flavored, or breaded—from defendants or co-conspirators for personal consumption in the Repealer Jurisdictions from January 1, 2012 to July 31, 2019" (the "Certified Class").

This notice provides Class Members with an opportunity to opt out of the Certified Class defined above. If you exclude yourself from the Certified Class, you will not be able to recover any award from any future settlements or judgments obtained by the lawyers for the Class, if settlements or judgments occur. Your decision to exclude yourself (or not) from the Certified Class will not affect your ability to participate in the previous settlements reached in this litigation. Your legal rights may be affected whether you act or do not act. Please read this notice carefully.  

Defendants have not admitted any liability and continue to deny the legal claims alleged in this lawsuit. No additional settlements have been reached with the Non-Settling Defendants.  If there are any future settlements or judgments, you will receive an additional notice.

WHO IS INCLUDED?

The Certified Class is defined as:

All persons and entities who indirectly purchased the following types of raw chicken, whether fresh or frozen: whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, breast cuts or tenderloin cuts, but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, organic, diced, minced, ground, seasoned, flavored, or breaded—from defendants or co-conspirators for personal consumption in the Repealer Jurisdictions from January 1, 2012 to July 31, 2019.

The "Repealer Jurisdictions" are: California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.

If you are a member of the Certified Class and do not exclude yourself, you may be eligible to participate in any additional settlements which may arise with the Non-Settling Defendants.

WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?

This class action, In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, N.D. Ill. Case No. 1:16-cv-08637, is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Durkin presides over this class action.  End-User Consumer Plaintiffs allege that Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired to restrict the supply of, and fix, raise, and stabilize the price of Broiler chicken, from at least January 1, 2012 through at least July 31, 2019, in violation of federal and state consumer protection and antitrust laws.

The Court previously gave final approval to settlements between the Plaintiffs and Fieldale, George's, Mar-Jac, Peco, Pilgrim's, and Tyson. The End-User Consumer Plaintiffs' case is proceeding against all other Defendants who have not settled the case, known as the "Non-Settling Defendants."

This is a class certification notice for the Non-Settling Defendants listed below: 

"Non-Settling Defendants" refers to Agri Stats, Inc.; Norman W. Fries, Inc. d/b/a Claxton Poultry Farms; Foster Farms, LLC and Foster Poultry Farms; Harrison Poultry, Inc.; House of Raeford Farms, Inc.; JCG Foods of Alabama, LLC, JCG Foods of Georgia, LLC, Koch Foods, Inc., and Koch Meat Co., Inc.; Mountaire Farms, Inc., Mountaire Farms, LLC, and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc.; O.K. Foods, Inc., O.K. Farms, Inc., and O.K. Industries, Inc.; Perdue Farms, Inc. and Perdue Foods LLC; Sanderson Farms, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Foods Division), Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division), and Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Production Division); Wayne Farms, LLC; and Simmons Foods, Inc. and Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc.

If you are a member of the Certified Class, you may receive additional notices regarding the progress of the litigation and any resolution of claims against the Non-Settling Defendants.

WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS?

If you do not want to remain a member of the Certified Class and you do not want to be legally bound by the terms of any potential settlements or judgments, or if you wish to pursue your own separate lawsuit against Defendants, you must exclude yourself by submitting a written request to the Administrator stating your intent to exclude yourself from the Certified Class (an "Exclusion Request").

Your Exclusion Request must include the following: (a) your name and address; (b) a statement that you want to be excluded from the End-User Consumer Certified Class in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation (End-User Consumer Action); and (c) your signature. You must mail your Exclusion Request, postmarked by April 4, 2023, to: Broiler Chicken Consumer Litigation, Attn: EXCLUSIONS, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173001, Milwaukee, WI 53217.

You can find more details about the Certified Class at www.overchargedforchicken.com or by calling toll-free 1-877-888-5428.  Please do not contact the Court.

SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC

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