BRIDGEPORT, CONN.- In a recently filed lawsuit in the US District Court of Connecticut, Subway Protein Litigation Corp., a  trustee representing Subway Restaurants, accused several major US pork production companies of price fixing.

Subway claimed that starting in 2009, Agri Stats, Clemens Food Group LLC, Hormel Foods Corp., JBS USA, Seaboard Foods LLC, Smithfield Foods Inc., Triumph Foods LLC, Tyson Foods Inc. and other subsidiaries shared information to control the price of pork.

“The effect of this information exchange allowed Defendants to coordinate their anticompetitive conduct, monitor each other’s production, and thereby control pork supply and price in furtherance of their anticompetitive scheme,” Subway Protein wrote.

The restaurant chain focused its argument on Agri Stats and how its reports to pork producers include information on profits, prices, costs and production levels instead of being aggregated as industry averages. 

Throughout 2021, major meat producers have started to settle litigation involving price-fixing for both pork and poultry.

Last week, Smithfield Foods Inc. announced it would pay $83 million to settle a court case that involved direct-purchaser class claims involving multiple companies in the pork industry. 

All recent coverage of price-fixing cases can be found here on the MEAT+POULTRY website.