For Immediate Release: July 30, 2026
Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard
Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
Please find below R-CALF USA’s weekly opinion/commentary that discusses the recent Court decision granting class certification to the damages class in R-CALF USA’s lawsuit. It is in three formats: written, audio and video. Anyone is welcome to use it for broadcasting or reporting.
Antitrust Litigation Update
Commentary by Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA
You’ll recall that it was seven years ago this spring, in 2019, when R-CALF USA and four of its cattle-feeding members filed a national class-action antitrust lawsuit against the four largest beef packers: Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef, which is now majority owned by Brazil-based Marfrig.
Though we filed the lawsuit as a national class-action antitrust action, we were actually proposing that the case be a class-action case because it is the Court that must determine whether the case becomes a national class action. Recently, the Court did just that and certified a class of cattle producers who sold fed cattle directly to the four largest beef packers during the class period from June 1, 2015, through February 29, 2020. The Court also named the four cattle feeders who initially filed the case with us as representatives of that class.
As will be discussed, this means the damages portion of the case will now continue as a national class-action lawsuit. The next major step in the lawsuit will be the filing of summary judgement motions and then, depending on how the Court rules, onward to trial.
Let’s look at how this historic case has evolved over the past seven years and provide more details about the Court’s recent class certification.
Our lawsuit filed in early 2019 on behalf of cattle feeders who sold cattle directly to the packers for slaughter was initially entitled “Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America et al. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al.” But soon after it was filed, several other classes of litigants filed related lawsuits, and the Court later consolidated all the various classes of litigants for pretrial proceedings under a master docket case entitled “In re: Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation.”
The Plaintiffs in the master docket case include the original Plaintiffs who sold fed cattle directly to the packers, known as the Cattle Class; the indirect sellers who sold lighter-weight cattle to feedlots, known as the Feeder Class; and then there are several downstream Plaintiffs who purchased beef either directly or indirectly from the packers, including direct purchasers, commercial and institutional indirect purchasers, and consumer indirect purchasers.
What this shows is that over the past seven years, the original cattle case has evolved into a comprehensive antitrust action encompassing nearly every segment of the beef supply chain, from upstream cattle producers to downstream beef consumers.
Now, the Court’s recent order addresses the class certification motions from the upstream Cattle Plaintiffs that sold fed cattle directly to the packers and the upstream Indirect Seller Plaintiffs, or Feeder Plaintiffs, that indirectly sold to the packers by first selling to feedlots who in turn sold the cattle to the packers.
The Indirect Seller Plaintiffs, also known as the Feeder Cattle Plaintiffs, sought to certify both a damages class and an injunctive relief class. The Court, however, denied the requested class certifications for the Feeder Cattle Plaintiffs.
The Cattle Plaintiffs, which again are the producers who sold fed cattle directly to the packers for slaughter, sought class certification for a damages class (also known as the Producer Class), an injunctive relief class and an exchange class, which included people who held long positions in certain Live Cattle Futures.
The Court denied the Cattle Plaintiffs’ request for certification for the Exchange Class.
The Court also declined to certify the Cattle Plaintiff’s request for the injunctive relief class but stated that Cattle Plaintiffs can renew their motion for certification at a later date.
The Court approved class certification for the Cattle Plaintiff’s Damages or Producer Class and named the original four cattle-feeding Plaintiffs as class representatives.
The Court also appointed Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP and Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP as Co-Lead Class Counsel.
Going forward, the designated class representatives will represent “All persons or entities within the United States that directly sold to a Defendant one or more fed cattle for slaughter from June 1, 2015, to February 29, 2020, other than pursuant to a Cost-Plus Agreement and/or a Profit-Sharing Agreement.”
Now, there are some exclusions and additional details contained in the recent Order that I have not mentioned; but, in general, this means the damages portion of the original class-action antitrust lawsuit filed in 2019 will now proceed toward summary judgment motions and trial as a class-action lawsuit.
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R-CALF USA’s weekly opinion/commentary educates and informs both consumers and producers about timely issues important to the U.S. cattle and sheep industries and rural America.
Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or call 406-252-2516.