JBS Suit Deadline Monday

The deadline to submit a claim in the $83.5 million settlement against beef packer JBS is Monday, Sept. 15.

If selling fed cattle for slaughter between June 1, 2015, and Feb. 29, 2020, to JBS, Tyson, Cargill or National Beef — or individuals who held a live cattle position on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2015 and 2016 — that could qualify for a share of the antitrust settlement monies.

The class-action lawsuit, filed by National Farmer’s Union, R-CALF USA and four fed cattle producers in April 2019, alleged that JBS conspired with three other meatpacking companies—Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef—to fix and depress the prices of fed cattle between June 2015 and February 2020.

The NFU claimed that JBS and the other defendants, which collectively control about 85% of the U.S. beef market, used their dominance to reduce competition.

By allegedly managing slaughter volumes, the companies could increase their profit margins at the expense of cattle producers. The lawsuit also claimed that JBS manipulated the price of live cattle futures and options traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

R-CALF USA, alongside National Farmer’s Union and the four fed cattle producers, filed a motion on January 30, 2025, with the Federal District Court for the District of Minnesota for preliminary approval of a proposed $83.5 million class action settlement with the JBS defendants. While offering a settlement, JBS did not admit to any liability or wrongdoing.