April 14, 2026
An Illinois federal judge overseeing broiler chicken price-fixing litigation gave his early blessing Tuesday to a settlement that end users struck with Agri Stats Inc. that calls for the data service to either cease or substantially change the reports it compiles for protein industry subscribers.
Preliminarily approving Agri Stats’ proposed settlement with end users is warranted in the sprawling litigation because the parties have agreed to dismiss a pending summary judgment appeal and bear their own costs while the company makes “what I believe to be substantive changes in their policies, which certainly seems like a fair and reasonable settlement,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin said during a brief remote hearing.
“There are benefits to the class in the sense that Agri Stats is still in the business of providing data to the broiler chicken market,” Judge Durkin said. But the settlement calls for changes to the types, timing and display of such data, which “certainly would make any potential abuse of that data less likely,” he said.
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The broiler chicken end users are represented by Shana Scarlett, Steve Berman and Breanna Van Engelen of Hagens Verman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Brent Johnson, Benjamin Brown, Daniel Silverman, Alison Deich and Zachary Glubiak of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.
Read Agri Stats’ Price-Fix Settlement Receives Chicken Judge’s OK.