Pork Price-Fixing Antitrust Litigation
On June 28, 2018, twelve indirect purchasers of pork products filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (the “Minnesota District Court”) against several pork processors, including Seaboard Foods LLC (“Seaboard Foods”) and Agri Stats, Inc., a company described in the complaint as a data sharing service. Additional class action complaints with similar claims on behalf of putative classes of direct and indirect purchasers were later filed in the Minnesota District Court, and additional actions by standalone plaintiffs (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) were filed in or transferred to the Minnesota District Court. The consolidated actions are styled In re Pork Antitrust Litigation. The complaints allege, among other things, that beginning in January 2009, the defendants conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price of pork products in violation of U.S. antitrust laws by coordinating output and limiting production, allegedly facilitated by the exchange of non-public information about prices, capacity, sales volume and demand through Agri Stats, Inc. The complaints on behalf of the putative classes of indirect purchasers also assert claims under various state laws, including state antitrust laws, unfair competition laws, consumer protection statutes, and common law unjust enrichment. The relief sought in the respective complaints includes treble damages, injunctive relief, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and attorneys’ fees. On October 16, 2020, the Minnesota District Court denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss the amended complaints. On March 3, 2023, the Minnesota District Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motions to Certify the Classes with respect to all three classes.
Additional standalone “direct action” plaintiffs filed similar actions in federal courts throughout the country, several of which named Seaboard Corporation as a defendant. Those actions filed in courts other than the District of Minnesota have been conditionally transferred to Minnesota for pretrial proceedings pursuant to an order by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The states of New Mexico and Alaska filed civil cases in state court against substantially the same defendants, including Seaboard Foods and Seaboard Corporation, based on substantially similar allegations. Except in the New Mexico action, all claims against Seaboard Corporation have been dismissed without prejudice.
On June 12, 2023, Seaboard Foods entered into a settlement agreement with the putative direct purchaser plaintiff class (the “DPP Class”). The settlement with the DPP Class does not cover the claims of (a) “direct action” plaintiffs (“DPPs”) that opted-out of Seaboard’s settlement with the DPP Class and are continuing direct actions; (b) other direct purchasers that opted-out of the settlement (“Other Opt-Outs”) and may in the future file actions against Seaboard; (c) the Commercial and Industrial Indirect Purchaser Class (the “CIIP Class”); or (d) the End User Consumer Indirect Purchaser Plaintiff Class (the “EUCP Class”). Subsequent to the settlement with the DPP Class, Seaboard settled with some of the DPPs and Other Opt-Outs. Seaboard continues to litigate against the DPPs it has not settled with, but Seaboard will consider additional reasonable settlements where they are available. On June 18, 2024, and June 20, 2024, Seaboard Foods entered into settlement agreements with the CIIP Class and the EUCP Class, respectively, subject to court approval. Seaboard believes that these settlements were in the best interests of Seaboard and its stakeholders in order to avoid the uncertainty, risk, expense and distraction of protracted litigation. Seaboard believes that it has meritorious defenses to the claims alleged in these matters and intends to vigorously defend any matters not resolved by settlement. However, the outcome of litigation is inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties, and if unfavorable, could result in a material liability.
Pork Compensation Antitrust Litigation
On November 11, 2022, three employees of pork or beef processing plants filed a class action complaint (the “Class Action”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (the “Court”) individually and on behalf of all other employees at such plants (the “Class”), against several pork and beef processors and their subsidiaries and related companies, including Seaboard Foods. The complaint alleges, among other things, that beginning in January 2014, the defendants conspired in violation of antitrust laws to fix and depress the compensation paid to the Class by, among other things, participating in third-party compensation surveys and exchanging wage-related information through a third-party benchmarking service. The relief sought includes treble damages, injunctive relief, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.
On June 23, 2023, Seaboard Foods reached a settlement with the Class to settle the Class Action which was approved by the Court and paid during Seaboard’s first quarter of 2024.
Cereoil and Nolston Litigation
On March 20, 2018, the bankruptcy trustee (the “Trustee”) for Cereoil Uruguay S.A. (“Cereoil”) filed a suit in the Bankruptcy Court of First Instance in Uruguay naming as parties Seaboard Corporation and its subsidiaries, Seaboard Overseas Limited (“SOL”) and Seaboard Uruguay Holdings Ltd. (“Seaboard Uruguay”). Seaboard Corporation has a 45% indirect ownership of Cereoil. The suit (the “Clawback Action”) seeks an order requiring Seaboard Corporation, SOL and Seaboard Uruguay to reimburse Cereoil the amount of approximately $22 million (approximately $30 million with interest at the statutory rate) (the “Clawback Amount”), contending that deliveries of soybeans to SOL pursuant to purchase