Chick-Fil-A, the nation’s largest chicken-based QSR chain by sales, has joined the lineup of customers alleging that their major chicken suppliers engaged in price fixing.
A lawsuit filed Dec. 4 in federal court in Illinois accuses Tyson Foods, Sanderson Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue Farms and others with conspiring to determine what to charge Chick-Fil-A for chicken. The suit is seeking unspecified damages and court costs.
Other customers suing major chicken processors include buffet restaurant chain Golden Corral, along with retailers Albertsons Cos., Kroger and Walmart, and foodservice distributors Sysco and US Foods.
Chick-Fil-A’s lawsuit comes about six months after the then-CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride, along with other executives, were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on price-fixing charges. Pilgrim’s Pride settled that case in October by agreeing to a fine of $110.5 million.
