Target Corp. and Tyson Foods Inc. have reached a confidential agreement to resolve the retail giant’s antitrust claims accusing Tyson and its subsidiaries of conspiring with other major poultry producers to artificially inflate broiler chicken prices for nearly a decade, according to a joint stipulation filed Thursday in Illinois federal court.
The filing seeks dismissal with prejudice of Target’s claims against Tyson Foods and Keystone Foods LLC (a Tyson subsidiary), with each side bearing its own fees and costs. The deal does not affect Target’s ongoing claims against other defendants in the long-running multidistrict litigation.
While settlement terms were not disclosed, the resolution marks another key exit for a major direct purchaser in one of the largest price-fixing cases in recent U.S. history. Target originally sued Tyson, Foster Farms, Perdue Farms, and others in December 2020, joining consolidated litigation alleging the producers — who control about 90% of the wholesale broiler chicken market — orchestrated a multipronged scheme to fix, raise, and stabilize prices from at least 2008 onward.
Broiler chickens account for 98% of U.S. chicken meat consumption. Direct purchasers like Target and Chick-fil-A alleged they bought billions of dollars worth of chicken during the period and suffered substantial damages from supra-competitive pricing and the loss of free-market competition.
Plaintiffs accused the producers of using Agri Stats Inc. as a conduit to illegally exchange detailed, non-public information on prices, costs, production volumes, and sales — enabling coordinated supply restrictions and price manipulation.
The case ballooned into a sprawling MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois before Judge Thomas Durkin, drawing in plaintiffs across the supply chain: direct purchasers (retailers, restaurants), indirect purchasers (commercial/institutional buyers), and end consumers.
Many claims have settled over the years, including more than $41 million in deals last year with producers such as Harrison Poultry, House of Raeford, Koch Foods, Mountaire, O.K. Foods, Sanderson Farms, and Simmons Foods (for indirect buyers). Target itself settled with processor Mar-Jac Poultry and related entities in June.
In August, the end-user consumer class sought approximately $49 million in attorney fees from two rounds of settlements totaling over $203 million, plus nearly $10 million in expenses, interest, and incentive awards for class representatives who served for a decade.
Representatives for Target and Tyson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Target is represented by Scott E. Gant of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Tyson and Keystone are represented by Kail J. Jethmalani of Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP.
This latest settlement underscores the mounting pressure on poultry producers in one of the most significant antitrust enforcement actions targeting food-price inflation, with billions in alleged overcharges still rippling through the supply chain and consumer wallets.
