Following approval by Judge John R. Tunheim, Chief District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Smithfield Foods, Inc. will settle a civil claim for $42 million. The commercial and institutional indirect purchasing plaintiffs alleged that Smithfield Foods, Inc. conspired to fix prices for pork over an extended period commencing 2009.
Smithfield Foods denied liability but negotiated the settlement “in the best interests of the company”. Previously, Smithfield Foods, Inc. paid $83 million to settle a parallel suit initiated by direct pork purchasers including distributors and supermarket chains.
The settlement agreements followed similar agreements by JBS USA with this Company along with competitors named as co-defendants.