US poultry producers sued by growers over hiring and pay

By Mike Scarcella

July 1 (Reuters) - Poultry farmers sued a group of major U.S. meat processors on Tuesday, claiming they conspired to curtail recruitment and hiring of chicken growers and suppressed their pay below competitive levels.

The proposed class action in the federal court in Oklahoma is the latest in a series of antitrust cases facing the meat and poultry industries. The plaintiffs, suing on behalf of thousands of chicken growers, said Foster Farms, Mountaire, George’s, House of Raeford and other leading processors had illegally agreed not to compete for the growers' services.

Growers provide land, labor and equipment to raise their chickens until they are ready for slaughter, when they are returned to a poultry producer. The new lawsuit alleged the poultry company defendants were conspiring to enforce a “no poach” agreement in violation of federal antitrust law.

“The cartel members attempted to insulate themselves from normal competitive pressures,” according to the lawsuit, filed by plaintiffs law firms including Hausfeld and Berger Montague.

Foster Farms, Mountaire, George’s and House of Raeford did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had no immediate comment.

Some of the plaintiffs have provided services to major poultry producers in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and other states.

The lawsuit builds on prior litigation that accused other processors, including Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson Foods, of similar efforts to restrain grower mobility and pay.

Last year, Pilgrim’s said it would pay $100 million to resolve claims against the company and Tyson agreed to a $21 million settlement. Both companies denied any wrongdoing.

Pilgrim’s settled after the judge in the case ruled that more than 24,300 growers could band together in a class action seeking damages of between $761 million and $924 million.

The new lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court order against alleged anticompetitive conduct.

The case is Haff Poultry et al v. Mountaire Farms Inc et al, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, No. 6:20-md-02977-RJS-CMR.

For plaintiffs: Gary Smith of Hausfeld and Eric Cramer of Berger Montague

For defendants: No appearances yet

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