Countless chicken meat buyers eligible to share in $181 million price-fixing settlement

A $181 million class-action price-fixing lawsuit settlement allows anyone who purchased chicken from a grocery store in the last decade-plus to be eligible for a share in the payments.

Law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll have reached a settlement with six chicken producers in their Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation lawsuit alleging price-fixing within the industry

None of the accused producers, Pilgrim's, Tyson, Fieldale, George's, Mar Jac, and Peco, admitted any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.

No date has been set for payments while legal action continues, and claims are being accepted until December 31, 2022.

The court is set to approve the settlement later this year.

Eligible claimants include anyone who purchased fresh or frozen raw chicken, whole cut-up chicken purchased within a package, or 'white meat' parts including breasts and wings but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free-range, or organic.

It applied to chicken from any of the said brands or their alleged co-conspirators for personal consumption between January 1, 2009, to July 31, 2019, or until December 31, 2020, for Pilgrim's.

The settlement cover purchases made in the following states: California, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, and Hawaii.