Hausfeld Recognized as an Honoree by the American Antitrust Institute for In re Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation
Hausfeld is proud to announce that our In re Broiler Chicken Grower Antitrust Litigation case has been chosen by the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) to receive the 2025 award for Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice.
Hausfeld represented a certified nationwide class of broiler chicken growers, farmers who raise chickens for meat under contract with poultry companies, alleging that Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue, Koch Foods, and Sanderson Farms, along with other unnamed co-conspirators, conspired not to recruit each other’s growers and exchanged compensation data to suppress grower pay in violation of U.S. antitrust laws and the Packers and Stockyards Act.
After defeating multiple motions to dismiss and securing class certification in May 2024, the plaintiffs reached settlements with all five defendants totaling more than $169 million; collectively the largest antitrust settlement for broiler chicken growers and among the largest in the U.S. protein industry.
Partner Gary I. Smith Jr. served as co-lead counsel for Hausfeld and worked closely with co-counsel Berger Montague to secure this landmark settlement.
The Hausfeld team included Gary I. Smith Jr., Melinda R. Coolidge, and Kyle G. Bates.
We look forward to celebrating this achievement at the 19th Annual AAI Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference and Awards Night on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
