Chicken Cartel Attorneys’ Fees Fall Slightly to $51.7 Million

Attorneys who spearheaded a cartel class action against some poultry giants are set to receive $51.7 million under a slightly reduced fee award that stemmed from objections raised by a class member.

The figure is 30% of the $172.2 million deal that Tyson Foods Inc., Koch Foods Inc. and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. reached with a class of “direct purchasers,” according to a July 3 opinion from Judge Thomas M. Durkin of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Attorneys are due to receive about $5 million less than Durkin’s original award, which represented a third of the ...