On July 16, 2026, Judge Tunheim certified a class of cattle ranchers who sold fed cattle to Defendants Cargill, JBS, National Beef, and Tyson during the period June 1, 2015 – February 29, 2020 (the "Producer Class"). A copy of the decision can be found here.
Plaintiffs allege that Defendants conspired to fix and suppress the prices they paid cattle ranchers for their fat cattle in violation of the federal antitrust laws and the Packers and Stockyards Act. Prior to the Court’s ruling on class certification, Plaintiffs settled with JBS for $83.5 million, which the Court approved on August 18, 2025.
The Court held that Plaintiffs had met all the requirements under Rule 23 for certification of the class, including that the Plaintiffs and their expert, Dr. Russell Lamb, had offered an economic model that was capable of showing that all or nearly all cattle ranchers were injured as a result of the alleged conspiracy. The Court rejected Defendants’ efforts to characterize the alleged conspiracy as episodic and that Dr. Lamb’s model fit Plaintiffs’ theory of a single persistent conspiracy. Relatedly, the Court also rejected Defendants’ efforts to exclude Dr. Lamb’s opinions as unreliable.
While the Court certified the Producer Class, the Court declined to certify an injunctive relief class and a class on behalf of cattle futures traders. However, with respect to the injunctive relief class, the Court permitted Plaintiffs to file a renewed motion for certification of the injunctive relief class in the future.
At bottom, this decision marks an important step forward in this now seven-year long litigation on behalf of injured fed cattle ranchers. Plaintiffs and Class Counsel look forward to continuing their march towards trial and justice for Producer Class.
For more information about this litigation and the JBS cattle settlement, please visit https://cattleantitrustsettlement.com/home