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Aberdeen (S.D.) American News –
Thursday – June 25, 2009 (front page)
(quotes R-CALF USA Co-Founder
Herman Schumacher)
Meat
packer demands money from Herreid man
Claim nearly $16,000 in court costs owed from lost price-fixing lawsuit
Herman Schumacher is accustomed to people talking about him.
A longtime sale barn
owner and advocate for independent cattle producers, he's well-known and
regularly in the press. Usually, though, people aren't talking because signs on
the door of his Herreid home say that he owes about $16,000 to the nation's
largest meat packer.
The so-called writ of execution was placed on Schumacher's door June 11. And
Tyson Fresh Foods' legal expenses are the result of a lawsuit Schumacher and two
others filed against packers.
In spring 2006, a South Dakota jury ruled that Tyson, Cargill/Excel and Swift
violated the federal Packers and Stockyard Act by attempting to manipulate
prices paid to cattle producers. The class action lawsuit was filed by
Schumacher and two other cattlemen - Michael Callicrate of Kansas and Roger Koch
of Nebraska.
The case alleged that all four packers knowingly used erroneous U.S. Department
of Agriculture price reports to pay less to producers for beef cattle. From
April 2 to May 11, 2001, the boxed beef prices issued by the USDA were too low
because of a computer program error.
Jurors awarded producers who sold livestock during that time $9.25 million,
although it was never determined how the money would be divided. The case was
tried in Aberdeen.
An appeals court in St. Louis ultimately overturned the jury's verdict.
That's why two U.S. marshals served Schumacher with papers and put the signs on
his door. They'll remain until he pays $15,881 - an amount approved by a federal
judge - to Tyson. If he doesn't pay, his home could be sold.
Schumacher said the marshals' visit to Herreid got people talking and that the
signs are a little embarrassing. He said he was not told he owed Tyson money
before the signs were put up.
He said he doesn't have legal recourse and must pay the fees.
“It's a done deal,” he said.
The bad news is more bills could be coming. While Schumacher said Tyson is the
only packer he's heard from so far, he and the other plaintiffs could be made to
pay a total of about $45,000 to cover the expenses of all three packers. The
good news is Schumacher said he has had offers from others to help pay Tyson.
To date, Schumacher said, Callicrate and Koch haven't heard that they have to
pay any legal costs.
Schumacher's making the most of the incident. He's scheduled a 1 p.m. Friday
press conference at his home - 102 Sixth Ave. N.W., Herreid - to discuss the
matter.
“In a sense (the writ of execution) is on my door, but it's on the door of any
producer that dares speak out” against meat packers, Schumacher said.
“I really do think they're trying to make an example of me, to silence me,” he
said.
The 2006 lawsuit wasn't the first time Schumacher locked horns with large meat
packers. He's been involved in a handful of lawsuits in which he's argued that
as packers have become fewer in number and gotten bigger, they've taken
advantage of their power to shortchange cattle producers.
Schumacher said he's still learning details about the writ of execution. He's
still unsure when he needs to pay, whether he owes interest, whether more bills
or coming and whether other plaintiffs will have to pay legal fees. But, he
said, being saddled with a bill from the packers isn't going to stop him from
fighting for the cattle producers.
http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090625/FRONTPAGE/906250332
©2009
Aberdeen News Company. All Rights Reserved. AberdeenNews.com
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