If you've bought chicken from a grocery store in the past decade or more, chicken growers might just owe you compensation. Six of the country's largest chicken producers are settling a price-fixing class-action suit for $181 million.
None of the six producers - Fieldale, Peco, Mar Jac, George's, Pilgrim's Pride
The worth of each individual claim is still being decided, but you won't need to prove you made a purchase in order to make a claim. You can check if you qualify at any time, but claims aren't likely to be processed and paid out any time soon. Claims will continue to be accepted until the end of 2022.
While the specific group of eligible claimants is more complex, broadly speaking it includes anyone who's purchased chicken in the U.S. from 2009 to 2019.
The technical class covered in the suit includes anyone who "purchased fresh or frozen raw chicken (defined as whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, or 'white meat' parts including breasts and wings (or cuts containing a combination of these), but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, or organic)."
The suit also stated the area included in the covered class regarding where and from whom the chicken was purchased.
The chicken may be "from any of the above brands or their alleged co-conspirators (which includes even more brands) for personal consumption between January 1, 2009, to July 31, 2019 (or until December 31, 2020 for Pilgrim's) in the following states: 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 (after July 15, 2013), South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin."
The suit was filed on behalf of the stated class by the law firms of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. The settlement is still awaiting the court's final approval.
This isn't the first time Pilgrim's Pride has had to address price-fixing accusations. In October of last year, the company agreed to pay $110.5 million to settle federal price-fixing charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The fine was "for restraint of competition that affected three contracts for the sale of chicken products to one customer in the United States," according to a company statement.
