If You Sold Fed Cattle To A Major Packer Or Transacted In Live Cattle Futures Any Time After June 1, 2015,
A Class Action Settlement Totaling $83,500,000 May Affect Your Legal Rights.
A federal court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.
PHILADELPHIA, April 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., and JBS S.A. (collectively, “JBS”) have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against them by Cattle Plaintiffs who allege that Defendants JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef — the four largest meat packers (the companies that buy fed cattle, slaughter, and fabricate them into beef) — conspired to eliminate or reduce competition among them for the purchase of fed cattle (cattle finished on a high energy ration), thereby artificially reducing the price cattle feeders received for their fed cattle. Cattle Plaintiffs bring a separate, but related, claim under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), alleging Defendants manipulated the price of exchange-traded Live Cattle contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”).
Cattle Plaintiffs are Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America, Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Weinreis Brothers Partnership, Minatare Feedlot, Inc., Charles Weinreis, Eric Nelson, James Jensen d/b/a Lucky 7 Angus, and Richard Chambers as trustee of the Richard C. Chambers Living Trust.
JBS denies any liability, fault, or wrongdoing in connection with the allegations in the action. Litigation remains ongoing against the non-settling defendants, Tyson Foods Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., Cargill, Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation and National Beef Packing Company, LLC.
What does the Settlement provide?
JBS will pay $83,500,000 into a Settlement Fund to settle the class action antitrust, PSA, and CEA claims against them and to provide certain cooperation to Cattle Plaintiffs in this litigation against the remaining Defendants and in to distribute the Net Settlement Amount.
Am I eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement?
You may be eligible to receive a payment if you directly sold to a Defendant one or more fed cattle for slaughter from June 1, 2015 to February 29, 2020 other than pursuant to a Cost-Plus Agreement and/or a Profit Sharing Agreement; and/or (ii) held a long position in Live Cattle Futures traded on the CME prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidated the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to November 1, 2016. To learn who the Defendants and Alleged Co-Conspirators are, visit www.CattleAntitrustSettlement.com.
How do I get a payment from the Settlement?
If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not exclude yourself, you are eligible to submit a claim to receive your share of money from the Net Settlement Fund. Claim Forms must be submitted electronically or mailed such that they are postmarked by September 15, 2025, to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund. You may access a Claim Form from the Settlement website and submit it online or download and mail it to the address on the Claim Form. Claim Forms are also available by calling 1-844-435-8844 or emailing [email protected].
What are my rights?
If you are a Settlement Class Member and do nothing, you will be bound by the Settlement and will give up any right to sue JBS and the other Released Defendants in a separate lawsuit related to the legal claims in this lawsuit. If you want to keep your right to separately sue JBS and the other Released Defendants, your written request to exclude yourself from the Settlement must be postmarked by July 7, 2025. If you do not exclude yourself, you may object to the Settlement and/or ask for permission to appear and speak at the Fairness Hearing but only if you do so by July 7, 2025. Complete information is available at [email protected].
The Court’s hearing.
The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on August 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, 300 South Fourth Street, Courtroom 14E, Minneapolis, MN 55415, to decide whether to approve the Settlement, grant the requested attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, and the proposed plan of allocation and distribution. You or your own lawyer may appear and speak at the hearing at your own expense, but there is no requirement that you or your own lawyer do so. Please check www.CattleAntitrustSettlement.com for updates as to the date or time of the hearing.
This Notice is only a summary.
For more information, including the full Notice and Settlement Agreement, visit www.CattleAntitrustSettlement.com, email [email protected], or call 1-844-435-8844.
Media Contact:
Angeion Group
Shiri Lasman
1-215-563-4116
SOURCE Angeion Group
