Koch Foods $15.5 Million Antitrust Deal Gets Initial Court Nod

Koch Foods Inc. affiliates stepped closer to exiting antitrust litigation over an alleged scheme by top poultry processors to drive down pay for chicken farmers, when a federal judge in Muskogee, Okla., tentatively signed off on their $15 million class action settlement.

Judge Robert J. Shelby granted preliminary approval Tuesday to the agreement, the third in the case after a $21 million deal with Tyson Foods Inc. and a $14.75 million pact with Perdue Farms LLC. Shelby signed off on the earlier settlements in February.

All three agreements call for the companies to refrain from enforcing arbitration clauses or class ...