On February 20, 2025, a preliminary approval was granted for an $83.5 million settlement in the In re: Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation involving JBS. This class action lawsuit, initiated in 2019 by National Farmers Union (NFU), R-CALF USA, and four individual ranchers, accused JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef of engaging in anticompetitive practices within the cattle market.
Eligible parties can now submit claims under the terms set by the JBS settlement. The court has established specific deadlines for those eligible to participate in this settlement. The proposed settlement classes include individuals or entities who directly sold fed cattle for slaughter to Tyson, JBS, Cargill, or National Beef from June 1, 2015, to February 29, 2020. It also includes those who held a long position in live cattle futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange before June 1, 2015.
The deadline for submitting claims is September 15, 2025. A dedicated website provides details about the settlement and instructions on filing claims or opting out.
The NFU encourages eligible individuals to review the information provided on the website and submit their claims by the specified deadline.
According to the claim form guidelines: “any information feeders and futures traders submit in connection with their claim will be maintained confidentially and will not be made available publicly or to any Defendant.”
