Heavily Redacted DOJ Filing Alleges Agri Stats Enabled Higher Meat Prices

The U.S. Department of Justice urged a federal judge to reject Agri Stats Inc.’s motion for summary judgment, arguing in a heavily redacted brief that the company has long served as a conduit for major chicken, turkey and pork processors to exchange competitively sensitive information and drive up prices for meat.

In the 54-page opposition filing, DOJ said documentary evidence, witness testimony and expert economic analyses show processors used Agri Stats’ data and customized reports to monitor rivals’ costs, production, supply and pricing and to implement price increases, not to foster competition. The department said that in markets where Agri Stats stopped sharing competitor information — including pork, bacon and turkey — prices later declined.

Agri Stats has asked the court to narrow the case to six sets of standardized monthly “books” of reports and to focus largely on sales reports. DOJ countered that this view ignores the full scope of the company’s conduct, which it says also includes bespoke reports, calls, emails, data downloads and other services that gave processors “near-total visibility” into each other’s operations while excluding purchasers such as retailers, restaurants and distributors.

The government also rejected Agri Stats’ contention that plaintiffs must prove market-wide price increases through a single econometric model, saying anticompetitive effects can be shown through both direct and indirect evidence under the rule-of-reason standard. DOJ cited its expert’s regression work, which it said confirms processors were more likely to raise prices on items flagged by Agri Stats as underpriced relative to competitors.

The brief further argued that claims involving pork and turkey remain justiciable even though Agri Stats suspended those programs in 2019, pointing to testimony that the company has the ability and intent to restart them once litigation concludes.