Chick-fil-A is going after multiple poultry producers in a new lawsuit alleging that the companies were price fixing. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The restaurant chain listed 17 different companies, including very well-known producers such as Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, and Pilgrim’s Pride. According to the New York Times, Pilgrim’s Pride said that the claims in this case were “unfounded.”
The fast food chain explained that they bought billions of dollars worth of chicken at prices that were “artificially inflated.” The company claims that since at least 2012 to 2017, the poultry producers mentioned in the suit were conspiring to fix prices and mess with bids for broiler chickens. Chick-fil-A is seeking damages and to be reimbursed for legal fees.
This comes after the U.S. Department of Justice filed criminal charges against 10 poultry executives earlier this year for allegedly conspiring to inflate broiler chicken prices since 2008. All of the companies involved denied the allegations.