Dear Mr. Schumacher:
As you are aware, in December 2008 Judge Kornman entered the final award for court costs for the litigation in which you and other plaintiffs blamed U.S. beef packers for an unintentional market reporting mistake made by USDA during its implementation of mandatory price reporting. Since we prevailed in the lawsuit, the federal court system awarded Tyson court costs, payable by the plaintiffs, of $15,881.38. Tyson communicated with your attorneys in January 2009 regarding payment, but no party has ever responded to the court's order or our communication. Since we never received any communication or payment, Tyson began the normal process of collecting the funds through the Marshall's office. Since you are the only plaintiff who lives in South Dakota, you are the only plaintiff subject to the court's and the Marshall's jurisdiction. Based on your recent statements, it appears your attorneys may not have communicated this information to you and the other plaintiffs, thus we are in the current situation.
Tyson does not have any interest in taking your home, and we are certainly interested in working with you on an acceptable method for recovering the amount we are owed. Based on the Campbell County tax records that were reviewed in the filing process with the Marshall in March 2009, the house in question is officially recorded as not being occupied by you (i.e., designated as not occupied by owner) and is not your primary residence. Our employees who work in South Dakota also thought your primary residence was located on the lake near Mina, South Dakota. If these records are inaccurate, please let us know immediately so we can inform the Marshall's office that the house in Herried in not an investment property but instead is your primary residence. You may also want to contact Campbell County and correct the official tax record designation. Since at least one of the other packer defendants also received a court cost award, you will want these records to be correct before they begin their collection proceedings.
Tyson is in the process of notifying the Marshall's office that it is not our intent to have anyone's primary residence sold and we have informed them not to take any further actions until you and we can work through this matter. Further, statements have been made to and by the media that the house has been "seized" and that you are not allowed to enter the property. We certainly did not believe that to be part of the Marshall's collection process, and we have confirmed with the Marshall's office that these statements are not accurate, that there has been no eviction process, and that, according to the Marshall, you are free to enter the property.
Although Tyson has never heard from you or your attorneys on this matter, we have been informed by the Marshall's office that you intend to pay the amount by July 1, 2009. This would be a very positive development. However, if this creates difficulties for you, we are willing to discuss a reasonable solution for payment. In any event, Tyson hopes the other plaintiffs and any associations that encouraged you to file this litigation in your home state will help you pay their fair share of the court ordered amount.
Because of our long-time commitment to hunger relief, Tyson's current intent is to donate the proceeds of this process to local foodbanks in South Dakota, where we know the money will be put to good use. If you wish to discuss this matter further, or if you need to discuss a solution for payment, please contact me at 479-290-7232. If your attorneys prefer to communicate with our legal representatives, they may contact Nate Hodne at 479-290-4706.
Sincerely,
Archie Schaffer, Executive Vice President-Corporate Affairs, Tyson Foods, Inc.