ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper Locke secured a significant victory for Tyson Foods (Tyson) in a high-stakes antitrust action brought by American Proteins, Inc. (API) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. In a 93-page order, the court granted Tyson’s motion for summary judgment in full and denied API’s cross-motion for summary judgment, disposing of all of API’s claims under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
API’s claims arose from Tyson’s 2018 acquisition of API’s poultry rendering operations in Georgia and Alabama in a transaction valued at more than $865 million. Tyson had previously decided to enter the rendering market in Georgia and Alabama and entered into long-term exclusive supply agreements with two poultry processing companies to ensure it would have supply when it entered the market by either building or buying rendering plants. API alleged that Tyson’s two new supply agreements constituted violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
The court concluded that Tyson lawfully competed to enter the poultry rendering market in the Southeast and that API failed to prove the existence of a horizontal conspiracy to boycott API. “It is not unlawful to expand or grow a business,” the court explained. The court also held that API lacked standing to pursue its claims based on exclusive dealing and failed to prove its predatory pricing claim.
The Troutman Pepper Locke team that secured this victory for Tyson was led by Jim Lamberth, Kasia Hebda, Scott Mills, Anaid Reyes-Kipp, Jason Evans, and Charlie Peeler.
Troutman Pepper Locke’s Business Litigation Practice has a successful track record defending and prosecuting high-stakes commercial matters in federal, state, trial, and appellate courts throughout the U.S. The team handles complex multidistrict cases, class actions, and single-case litigations, representing both mid-market companies and Fortune 500 industry leaders. Additionally, Troutman Pepper Locke represents clients before administrative boards, government agencies, and domestic and international alternative dispute tribunals.
Troutman Pepper Locke
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