MINNEAPOLIS, July 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ —
Settlements have been reached in a class action antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs with Triumph, LLC (“Triumph”) and Agri Stats, Inc. (“Agri Stats”) (together, “Settling Defendants”). Agri Stats has agreed to certain non-monetary relief but has not agreed to pay any money. Triumph is required to pay $700,000. In addition to this monetary benefit, Triumph has also agreed to certain non-monetary relief and to provide specified cooperation in the Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs’ continued pursuit of the lawsuit. There will be no payments to the Settlement Classes at this time. You will be notified later of an opportunity to file a Claim Form. Before any money is paid, the Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement.
The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota authorized this Notice. This Court ordered Notice may affect your rights. Please read this notice carefully.
WHO IS INCLUDED?
For settlement purposes, members of the Settlement Classes are defined as:
Injunctive Class: All entities that indirectly purchased uncooked pork bacon, or one or more of the following types of raw pork, whether fresh or frozen: loins, shoulder, ribs, hams, or pork chops from defendants or co-conspirators for their own use in commercial food preparation in the United States from June 28, 2014, to June 30, 2018. For this lawsuit, pork excludes any product that is marketed as organic and/or no antibiotics ever and any product other than bacon that is marinated, seasoned, flavored, or breaded, but it includes uncooked and cooked ham water added products.
Damages Class: All entities that indirectly purchased uncooked pork bacon, or one or more of the following types of raw pork, whether fresh or frozen: bellies, loins, shoulder, ribs, hams, or pork chops from defendants or co-conspirators for their own use in commercial food preparation in the Repealer Jurisdictions from June 28, 2014, to June 30, 2018. For this lawsuit, pork excludes any product that is marketed as organic, no antibiotics and/or no antibiotics ever (NAE) and any product other than bacon that is marinated, seasoned, flavored, or breaded, but it includes uncooked and cooked ham water added products.
All Settlement Class members are members of the nationwide Injunctive Class. Only Settlement Class members in the following jurisdictions (“Repealer Jurisdictions”) are eligible to potentially recover money from the settlement funds available in the Damages Class: Arkansas, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and/or Wisconsin. The class period for Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee class members begins June 28, 2015.
For purposes of the Settlement, “Pork” means porcine or swine products processed, produced or sold by Triumph, or by any of the Defendants or their co-conspirators: uncooked pork bacon, or one or more of the following types of raw pork, whether fresh or frozen: loins, shoulder, ribs, hams, or pork chops. “Pork” excludes any product that is marketed as organic and/or no-antibiotics ever and any product other than bacon that is marinated, seasoned, flavored, or breaded, but it includes uncooked and cooked ham water added products.
In addition to Agri Stats and Triumph, the Defendants and alleged co-conspirators in this lawsuit are Clemens Food Group, LLC, The Clemens Family Corporation, JBS USA Food Company, Hormel Foods Corporation, Hormel Foods, LLC, Seaboard Foods LLC, Seaboard Corporation, Smithfield Foods, Inc., and Tyson Foods, Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods, Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc.
If you are not sure you are included, you can get more information, including a detailed notice, at the Settlement Website, www.PorkCommercialCase.com, or by calling toll-free 1-855-867-0738.
WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?
Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs allege that Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price of Pork products, from at least January 1, 2009, with the intent and expected result of increasing prices of Pork products in the United States, in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust, consumer protection and unfair trade practices, and unjust enrichment laws. Agri Stats and Triumph deny they did anything wrong. The Court did not decide whether Plaintiffs or Settling Defendants were right, but both sides agreed to the Settlements to resolve the lawsuit and get benefits to the Settlement Classes. A separate notice was previously sent regarding the progress of the lawsuit.
WHAT DO THE SETTLEMENTS PROVIDE?
Agri Stats has agreed to certain non-monetary relief to resolve all Settlement Class members’ legal claims against Agri Stats for the Released Claims (as defined in the Agri Stats Settlement Agreement). There are no monetary benefits in the Agri Stats Settlement Agreement. Triumph will pay $700,000 to resolve all Settlement Class members’ legal claims against Triumph for the Released Claims (as defined in the Triumph Settlement Agreement). In addition to this monetary benefit, Triumph has also agreed to certain non-monetary relief and to provide specified cooperation in the Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs’ continued pursuit of the lawsuit. No money will be distributed at this time. You will be notified later if and when there is an opportunity to submit a Claim Form to receive a payment.
Settlement Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees based on their services in this lawsuit not to exceed one-third of the Triumph Settlement Fund. Settlement Class Counsel will also request that the Court reimburse them for litigation expenses and award each class representative a service payment of $5,000.00. Any payment to the attorneys or class representatives will be subject to Court approval, and the Court may award less than the requested amount. The attorneys’ fees, costs, expenses, and service payments that the Court orders, plus the costs to administer the Settlement, will come out of the Triumph Settlement Fund. Agri Stats is not required to pay attorneys’ fees, expenses or service payments to the class representatives. When Settlement Class Counsel’s motion for fees and service payments is filed, it will be available at www.PorkCommercialCase.com. The motion will be posted on the website before the deadline for objecting to the Settlements. You will have an opportunity to object to this request.
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS?
You do not need to take any action to remain a member of the Settlement Classes and be bound by the Settlement Agreements. As a Settlement Class member, you may be eligible to participate in any monetary distribution, which may happen later.
If you do not like something about the Settlements and you have not previously excluded yourself from the Settlement Class, you can object to the Agri Stats and/or Triumph Settlements. Instructions on how to object are found on the Settlement Website at www.PorkCommercialCase.com.
While the Settlements are only with Agri Stats and Triumph at this time, the Settlement Class includes purchasers of Pork products (as defined in the Settlement Agreements) from any of the Defendants or their co-conspirators.
The Court will hold a hearing in this lawsuit In re Pork Antitrust Litigation (Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Actions), Case No. 0:18-cv-01776 (D. Minn.) to consider whether to approve the Agri Stats and Triumph Settlement Agreements. You may ask to speak at the hearing, but you do not have to. Please check the Settlement Website at www.PorkCommercialCase.com, for the time and date of the Final Fairness Hearing.
This Notice is a summary only. You can find more details about the Settlements at www.PorkCommercialCase.com or by calling toll-free 1-855-867-0738. Please do not contact the Court.
URL: www.PorkCommercialCase.com
View original content:SOURCE United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
