Another Antitrust Lawsuit Filed Against Big 4 Packers
Compass Group USA, a contract foodservice company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, filed suit on Tuesday alleging price-fixing since 2015 by the Big 4 U.S. beef packing companies.
The complaint alleges Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS and National Beef conspired to limit the supply of beef in the United States and thereby artificially inflating beef prices.
This is the second suit the Big 4 has faced in recent weeks. A month ago, a group of small food distributors filed similar claims against the same companies. They said the alleged scheme continued and has caused them financial harm at least through the end of 2021.
Allegations in the latest lawsuits are similar to others filed against the Big 4 that have led to settlements in the tens of millions of dollars and led to scrutiny by the Department of Justice and Congress.
In August, antitrust claims against the Big 4 by a group of ranchers was dismissed. A federal judge in Minnesota dismissed the claims filed by a putative class of cattle ranchers in a long-running case that alleged an industry-wide scheme to fix prices.
The judge told the ranchers they lacked standing to pursue their central arguments. The ranchers can’t refile their complaint without first gaining court approval on how they plan to amend the claims.