Don’t Get Overcharged for Pork: Smithfield Class Action Settlement

Have you ever felt like you were overcharged for pork? If so, you’re not alone. Smithfield has recently agreed to pay $75 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that it conspired with other pork product manufacturers to fix and increase prices. This settlement affects those who indirectly purchased Smithfield pork products, so if you believe you were overcharged for pork, you may qualify for a portion of the settlement.

According to the District Court of Minnesota, consumer indirect purchaser plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against Smithfield Foods, JBS USA Food, Clemens Food, and Tyson Fresh Meats and their co-conspirators, who allegedly colluded and joined forces to set, raise, maintain, and stabilise pork product prices commencing January 1, 2009.

Indirect purchaser plaintiffs have proposed a new settlement to defendant Smithfield. However, in order to avoid future legal action, Smithfield has agreed to a settlement despite their denial of any wrongdoing. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Smithfield has agreed to pay $75 million to resolve claims that it conspired with other pork producers to raise and fix the price of pork products.

As part of the settlement for overcharging pork, people who bought eligible products from the named defendants or co-conspirators may be eligible for a share of the settlement fund.

Can I join the settlement?

U.S. citizens who purchased pork from JBS, Smithfields, Tyson Meats, or Clemens Foods between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2021, are eligible to participate in the JBS pork settlement.

Benefits

Money will not be given out quite yet. In the meantime, the JBS pork settlement fund is being set up. From the Settlement Fund, co-lead counsel may ask the court to pay for their fees and repay them for some of the litigation costs and expenditures they incurred.

Attorney fees are estimated by Co-Lead Counsel to be no more than 33.3% of the Settlement Fund, or $25,000,000, and costs are estimated to be no more than $5,200,000. Class counsel will also ask the court for service awards of up to $2,000 for each class representative who has helped with the case.

There is currently no information available regarding the distribution of funds to each properly submitted claim by a Settlement Class Member. There are a few things that will affect how much each member of the Settlement Class gets. One of these is the total number of valid claims that were sent in.