Deadline Nears for JBS Cattle Antitrust Settlement Claims
On February 20, 2025, the Cattle Plaintiffs in the Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation received preliminary court approval for an $83.5 million settlement with JBS.
This class action lawsuit, initiated in 2019 by R-CALF USA, four individual ranchers, and the National Farmers Union, alleges anticompetitive practices in the cattle market.
While the settlement with JBS has been approved, litigation against Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef is still ongoing.
The court has set important deadlines for individuals who may qualify to receive a portion of the JBS settlement. The “Settlement Classes” include cattle feeders who sold fed cattle directly to JBS, Tyson, Cargill, or National Beef between June 1, 2015, and February 29, 2020.
It also includes individuals who held long positions in live cattle futures on the CME before June 1, 2015, and closed those positions through offsetting transactions before November 1, 2016. The deadline to file a claim is September 15, 2025.
Details about the settlement, including eligibility, how to file a claim, and how to object or opt out, are available at www.CattleAntitrustSettlement.com. The site provides comprehensive guidance for both cattle feeders and futures traders.
R-CALF USA is encouraging all eligible individuals to review the settlement information and submit their claims before the deadline. As stated in the claim form, any information submitted “will be maintained confidentially and will not be made available publicly or to any Defendant.”
“We filed this case after witnessing the inexplicable collapse of fed cattle prices beginning in 2015,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. He added, “Our case has been working its way through the court for six years now and we will continue in our effort to recover as much as we can for American cattlemen.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP. For questions, the court-appointed Claims Administrator can be contacted at 1-844-435-8844 or Info@CattleAntitrustSettlement.com.