ROCKFORD, ILL. –  Boston Market Corp. recently filed a federal lawsuit against leading poultry companies for their alleged role in price fixing for broiler chickens from 2008 to 2017, alleging the restaurant chain was overcharged millions of dollars.

The lawsuit was filed on June 12 in the US Court in the Northern District of IIIinois in Rockford. The next scheduled hearing is Aug. 6.

Boston Market claims the poultry companies conspired “to restrain production, manipulate price indices, fix prices and rig bids, the purpose and effect of which was to fix, raise, stabilize and maintain prices of chicken meat throughout the United States.”

Defendants named in the Boston Market lawsuit included: Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, Perdue Farms, Koch Foods, Sanderson Farms, JCG Foods, House of Raeford Farms, Mar-Jac Poultry, Wayne Farms, Fieldale Farms, George's Farms, Simmons Foods, O.K. Foods, Peco Foods, Harrison Poultry, Foster Farms, Claxton Poultry, Mountaire Farms, Amick Farms, Case Farms and Agri Stats Inc. 

“Tyson is committed to fostering a free and fair competitive environment and to maintaining strong relationships with our customers, suppliers and partners as we work to put affordable and nutritious food on family tables,” said Tyson spokesperson Worth Sparkman. “Follow-on individual complaints are common in antitrust litigation. This complaint joins other individual complaints that have already been filed in this action. We will respond to the allegations in the appropriate forum.”

Perdue Farms said Boston Market is not a customer of the producer.

Boston Market’s suit was filed right after four poultry executives were indicted in a conspiracy to price fix earlier in June. Last week that case, which includes Jayson Penn, chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., was delayed until 2021.