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House of Raeford Farms and Koch Foods recently settled with the direct purchasers’ class in litigation alleging price fixing. The two companies paid $28 million and $48 million respectively, bringing the total payments by the broiler industry to $285 million. As with all other defendants, the two companies denied wrongdoing and settled to avoid possible adverse judgements in jury trials together with the inevitable high legal costs involved in defense.
The settlements will have to be approved by Judge Thomas Durkin of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. This is regarded as a formality given his approval of previous settlements between the direct purchase plaintiffs and numerous integrators.
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