JBS to Pay $25M for Price Fixing of Beef

JBS SA has agreed to pay $25 million to commercial beef purchasers that accused the meat-packing company of conspiring with industry competitors to restrict market supply to keep prices high.

The class action lawsuit alleged the Brazilian meat company conspired with other producers to artificially raise the price of beef since 2015.

The proposed settlement in a Minnesota federal court was disclosed on Friday from plaintiffs’ lawyers representing a class of businesses that bought beef for food preparation since 2015.

The settlement requires JBS’s cooperation in ongoing cases against companies that have not settled yet, and awaits approval from a judge.

It is the second deal that the beef giant and its US units have struck in the case, after they agreed last year to pay $52.5 million to grocers and other plaintiffs that make up the “direct” beef purchaser class.