Consumer Indirect Purchaser Beef Litigation

The lawsuit: This is an antitrust class action lawsuit that claims several beef processors—including JBS, Cargill, National Beef, and Tyson Foods— entered into a market allocation agreement and stopped competing against each other for market share. The alleged purpose and effect of this agreement was to increase their margins and increase the price consumers paid for beef.

Defendants' Position: The Court has not ruled that the Defendants did anything wrong, and the companies deny all allegations of wrongdoing.

Non-Settling Defendants: JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., and National Beef Packing Company have not settled.

This lawsuit is called In re: Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation. It is pending in the United States District Court, District of Minnesota. The case number is 0:22-md-3031. The Judge overseeing this litigation is Judge John R. Tunheim.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people sue on behalf of a larger group. The people who represent the group are called “class representatives.” The whole group of people is called a “class.” Individual people in the class are called “class members.”

The Defendants in this case are JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., Cargill, Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation (“Cargill”), National Beef Packing Company, LLC, Tyson Foods, Inc., and Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. (“Tyson”).

Cargill and Tyson, together are “Settling Defendants” and the remaining Defendants JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., and National Beef Packing Company, LLC, are “non-settling Defendants.”

The Court has not decided who is right. Instead, the Plaintiffs and Defendants have agreed to settle. A settlement is an agreement to stop the lawsuit. That way, it avoids the cost of a trial, and the people in the Class will get money. The Class Representatives and the attorneys think the Settlements are best for the Class.

Two of the defendants, Tyson Foods, Inc., and Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. (“Tyson”) and Cargill, Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation (“Cargill”), have agreed to Settlements totaling **$87.5 million** ($55 million from Tyson and $32.5 million from Cargill) to resolve the claims against them. They have also agreed to certain non-monetary relief.

The plaintiffs in this case are a group of individuals who purchased beef products at grocery stores. Their names are: Kenneth Peterson, Jason Falbo, Sharon Dawson-Green, Lisa Melegari, Cindy Abernathy, Andrew Cohen, Marcelo Lopez, Stacey Troupe, Eric Gauchat, Sharon Killmon, Karen Carter, Charlie Morgan, Brent Rasmussen, David Renz, Kent Winchester, Brenda King, Robert Trepper, Michelle Oversen, William Gee, Jacquelyn Watson, John Shupe, Martin Jarmulowicz, Harold M. Nyanjom, Mark Sperry, Dan Campbell, Craig Margulies, Lindsey Lemoi, and Leigh Tiller.

You are included—and may be eligible for a payment—if you are a person or entity who indirectly purchased any of the following beef products for personal consumption between August 1, 2014, and December 31, 2019:

• Beef (fresh or frozen) made from chuck, loin, rib, or round primal cuts.
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• Purchased in one of the following states/jurisdictions (known as "Repealer Jurisdictions" for this case): Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

“Indirectly purchased” means you did not buy the beef products directly from one of the Defendants. Instead, you bought it at a grocery store or supermarket.

Any beef marketed as:

• Premium: USDA Prime, organic, 100% grass-fed, Wagyu, "American-Style Kobe Beef."
• Specialty: No Antibiotics Ever ("NAE"), antibiotic-free, kosher, halal, certified humane.
• Processed: Ground, marinated, seasoned, flavored, breaded, or cooked beef.

Yes. Excluded from the Settlement Class are Defendants, the officers, directors or employees of any Defendant; any entity in which any Defendant has a controlling interest; any affiliate, legal representative, heir or assign of any Defendant; any federal, state, or local governmental entities, any judicial officer presiding over this lawsuit and the members of his/her immediate family and judicial staff, any juror assigned to this lawsuit. Further excluded are purchases of products that contain ingredients other than beef (except for salt or water).

If you are included in the Settlement Class, you can file a claim to receive a pro-rata (equal share) cash payment. This payment will be proportional to the amount of included beef you purchased during the class period.

You do not need to submit a separate Claim Form for the Tyson Foods and Cargill Settlements.

If you stayed in the class and did nothing, you will not receive money. If you stayed in the class and submitted a timely and valid claim, you will receive some payment. If you stayed in the class, you cannot sue Cargill or Tyson on your own for these same claims. The Released Claims are detailed in Paragraphs 14-15 of the Cargill Settlement and Paragraphs 14-15 of the Tyson Settlement.

You are not releasing your legal claims against any Defendants other than Cargill and Tyson.

If you did nothing, you will remain a member of the Settlement Class. You will receive a cash payment only if you submitted a timely and valid claim. All Court orders and judgments will apply to you and legally bind you.

You will still have the opportunity to participate in any future settlements or judgments obtained by Consumer Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs against other Defendants in the lawsuit.

The deadline to submit a claim for the Cargill and Tyson Settlements passed on June 30, 2026. Any claims that were not submitted online or paper claim forms that were not postmarked by June 30, 2026 will not be considered. If you did not submit a Claim Form by June 30, 2026 for the Cargill and Tyson Settlements, you will still have the opportunity to participate in any future settlements or judgments obtained by Consumer Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs against other Defendants in the lawsuit.

If you change your mailing address or email address after you submit a Claim Form, it is your responsibility to inform the Settlement Administrator of your updated information. You may notify the Settlement Administrator of any changes by writing to:

Consumer Indirect Beef Litigation
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 3605
Portland OR, 97208-3605

You will get paid after all claims have been reviewed and any deficient claims have had sufficient time to respond. This process can take time. Please check this website for updates.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlements passed on March 30, 2026. If you did not submit a request to exclude yourself by this date, you are bound by the terms of the Settlements. You will still have the opportunity to participate in or exclude yourself from any future settlements or judgments obtained by Consumer Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs against other Defendants in the lawsuit.

No. If you excluded yourself from a Settlement, you will not get money from that Settlement. And if you excluded yourself from all of the Settlements, you will not get money from any of the Settlements in this case.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up any right to sue the Released Parties (Tyson and Cargill) for the legal claims that these Settlements resolve and Release, and you are bound by all of the terms of the Settlements. You must have excluded yourself from this lawsuit to start or continue with your own lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties about the Released Claims in this lawsuit. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately.

The deadline to Object to the Settlements passed on March 30, 2026. Objections that were not submitted by this deadline were considered late and were not considered by the Court.

The deadline to object to these settlements passed on March 30, 2026. Objections that were not submitted by this deadline were considered late and were not considered by the Court.

Yes. The judge assigned lawyers from two law firms to represent you and the other Class Members in this lawsuit. The law firms are Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP. These lawyers are called “Class Counsel.”

You will not be charged for these lawyers, and you can contact them for free. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you can hire one, but you may have to pay them.

The Court awarded Class Counsel attorneys’ fees up to 33 1/3% of the Gross Settlement Amount ($87.5 million plus accrued interest), $8,871,642.26 in expenses and costs incurred, and service awards of $2,000 to each Class Representative, to be paid from the Settlement Funds. The attorneys’ fees, costs, expenses, and service awards that the Court ordered, plus the costs to administer the Settlements, will be paid out of the respective Cargill and Tyson Settlement Funds.

You may review the Court’s Final Approval Order on this website here.

All claims are being reviewed and any deficient claims will be notified and provided sufficient time to respond. This process can take time, please be patient.

The case is still being litigated against JBS and National Beef.

Please check this website for updates as they are made available.

At the hearing, the Court approved the Settlements. The Court also awarded Class Counsel fees and expenses, as well as Class Representative Service Awards.

This website summarizes the lawsuit, the Cargill and Tyson Settlements, and your legal rights. More details are in the Settling Defendants’ Settlement Agreements. You can find a copy of the Settlement Agreements, other important documents, and information about the current status of the lawsuit here. You may get additional information by calling toll-free at 1-877-283-8711 or by writing to:

Consumer Indirect Beef Litigation
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 3605
Portland OR, 97208-3605