Price fixins: Washington attorney general secures $35 million from chicken giants in lawsuit
Brady Knox
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Washington’s attorney general has secured $35 million from over a dozen major chicken producers in a wide-ranging price-fixing lawsuit.
The combined total was taken from 14 major chicken producers, who were accused of manipulating prices in a 2021 lawsuit, according to a press release from Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office. It asserted that starting in 2008, the companies participated in “a widespread illegal conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids, illegally exchange information and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize profits.” It added that Ferguson’s office is working to distribute the profits to those affected by the conspiracy.
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“If you bought chicken in the last several years, you paid more for that chicken than you should have because of the illegal conduct from these companies,” Ferguson said.
“This is yet another milestone in our case against the companies involved in this conspiracy — but we are not done,” he added. “They drove up the price of chicken and cheated hardworking Washingtonians. Antitrust laws protect consumers when company executives conspire to rig the system. I will hold all of the conspirators accountable.”
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The bulk of the payments came from the three largest chicken producers in the country: Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods, and Pilgrim’s Pride, which paid $11 million, $10.5 million, and $6.5 million, respectively.
Five more chicken producers are due in court in October 2024.