AG: Washingtonians overpaid millions for chicken; $35M recovered in lawsuit
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson says price-fixing by chicken producers led Washington residents to overpay millions of dollars.
As a result of a lawsuit filed in Oct. 2021, $35 million was recovered when 14 of the 19 companies named in the lawsuit paid to resolve the claims against them.
It is estimated that 90% of people about 7 million living in Washington buy products derived from the chickens the companies produce, from chicken breasts bought from a grocery store to nuggets bought at a fast-food restaurant.
The lawsuit says the 19 chicken producers drove up chicken prices since at least 2008 and that there is a widespread illegal conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids, illegally exchange information and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize profits.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ag-washingtonians-overpaid-millions-for-chicken-35m-recovered-in-lawsuit/ar-AA19vEaE