A federal judge in Minnesota has dropped a group of beef producers from a price-fixing case against packers.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ruled that producers from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee don’t have standing to sue the Big Four over claims of conspiracy in 2015.
The judge’s ruling is his second dismissal in less than a year. Producers in the case argued the packers conspired to bring down fed cattle prices and limit live trade in the fed cattle markets, which caused a collapse in fed cattle prices in 2015.
Tunheim ruled that the producers “have still not clearly alleged that they were the target of an alleged conspiracy.” The case also includes retailers, fast food restaurants and wholesale beef buyers as plaintiffs.
