The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently backed a ruling the cleared Tyson Fresh Meats in a cattle price-fixing case, has also ruled that the plaintiffs must pay Tyson’s court expenses, the company has said.
Tyson said the three judge panel backed a district court decision ordering the plaintiffs – five individuals and one corporation – to pay Tyson Fresh Meats more than US$70,000 in expenses related to the trial held last year in Montgomery, Alabama.
Last week the appeals court affirmed Judge Lyle Strom’s decision to reverse a jury verdict against Tyson Fresh Meats, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods. The plaintiffs had claimed Tyson Fresh Meats, known as Ibp when the suit was filed in 1996, used cattle marketing agreements to manipulate the price of cattle, and had asked the federal courts to enjoin the use of marketing agreements.
