Smithfield Foods to pay $75 million in pork price-fixing settlement
Smithfield Foods Inc has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit by consumers who accused the meat producer and several competitors of conspiring to inflate prices in the $20 billion-a-year U.S. pork market by limiting supply
by Jonathon Stempal – Reuters
A preliminary settlement in the antitrust case was filed on Tuesday night with the federal court in Minneapolis, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge John Tunheim.
The accord follows the judge’s Sept. 14 approval of a similar $20 million settlement between consumers and JBS SA, one of Smithfield’s largest rivals.
Smithfield spokesman Jim Monroe said the company denied liability in agreeing to settle, and that the accord reduces the distraction, risk and cost of protracted litigation.
“Smithfield previously reached settlements of $83 million with so-called “direct” purchasers such as Maplevale Farms and $42 million with commercial purchasers, a group that includes restaurants”
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