SEATTLE — The nation’s largest chicken producer will pay Washington state $10.5 million as part of a settlement in a price-fixing scheme.
The lawsuit against Tyson Foods is the third from Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who has sued 19 broiler chicken producers in total.
Tyson Foods and the 18 other chicken producers have driven up the price of chicken since at least 2008, according Ferguson, who says the price fixing affected an estimated 90% of Washingtonians.
The lawsuit asserts these 19 companies schemed amongst each other to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids, illegally exchange information, and coordinate to reduce supply, violating anti-trust law.
As part of the court order, Tyson Foods will now conduct internal training and certify that it has corporate policies that ensure the company follows state and federal antitrust laws.
Ferguson says the money from the settlements will be returned to the consumers who unfairly overpaid for their chicken. It is not yet clear how this would happen.