Sanderson Will Pay $18 Million to Exit Poultry Farmer Pay Case

Sanderson Farms Inc. affiliates will pay $17.75 million to exit antitrust litigation over an alleged scheme by top poultry processors to drive down compensation for the farmers supplying their chickens.

The chicken growers leading the case are seeking preliminary approval for the pact, which would resolve class action claims facing Sanderson. Judge Robert J. Shelby has so far signed off on agreements worth roughly $51 million in total with Koch Foods Inc., Perdue Farms Inc., and Tyson Foods Inc.

The multidistrict lawsuit accuses the poultry processors of colluding to turn chicken growers into “modern-day sharecroppers” forced to borrow ruinously against ...