Class action lawsuit filed against Tyson Foods
DEXTER, Mo. (KBSI) – A class action lawsuit on behalf of 45 people was filed in Stoddard County.
The Oliver Law Firm in Dexter filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 45 plaintiffs.
Tyson Foods Inc. closed a chicken processing plant in Dexter in 2023. This impacted 683 employees as well as a vast network of chicken growers, farmers, truckers and more.
The suit alleges Tyson engaged in anti-competitive behavior by prohibiting the plaintiffs from ever growing slaughter chickens again. The suit alleges the plaintiffs cannot work for other slaughterhouses in the area.
The suit reads in part,
3. At Tyson’s urging, families took on millions of dollars of debt and built chicken farms to meet Tyson’s specific requirements. Many of these families had no farming experience, no business experience, and no collateral. Most of the chicken houses built to Tyson’s specifications were financed by a handful of “poultry banks.” The poultry loans were largely risk-free to the banks because they were guaranteed through various government programs. 5. This model — forcing farmers to build Tyson’s chicken houses with financing from government-backed loans — shifted financial exposure and risk from Tyson and the poultry banks and placed the risks firmly on the backs of farmers and U.S. taxpayers. 6. The chicken houses built to Tyson’s specifications and financed by poultry banks could be used for one thing and one thing only: Raising chickens for slaughter at Tyson’s plant in Dexter.
7. It was not just chicken farmers who put everything on the line for Tyson. Hundreds of people worked in the Dexter processing plant, and dozens of companies supplied various materials and services to the plant.
Tap here to read the full petition filed on June 5.
Attorneys for the Oliver Law Firm say Tyson needs to declassify the documents because Missouri farmers deserve to know the details.
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