Few antitrust cases attract the level of attention as In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation. This sprawling case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and related to allegations of a conspiracy among major broiler chicken producers—like Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Sanderson Farms—to fix prices and restrict supply. Several Cirque economists, including Dr. Russell Mangum in a testifying role, along with Maggie Herrington and Scott Bosworth assisting with project management, contributed critical analysis that proved instrumental in securing class certification and negotiating valuable settlements with defendants.
The broilers case began in 2016 with allegations that defendant chicken producers colluded from at least 2008 to manipulate the $28 billion U.S. broiler market, which accounts for 98% of chicken meat sold domestically. Plaintiffs, including direct purchasers (wholesalers), indirect purchasers (restaurants), and end-user consumers, claimed that producers coordinated production cuts—such as slaughtering breeder flocks—and shared sensitive data via Agri Stats—an agricultural economic benchmarking firm—to inflate prices artificially. One reason for the importance of this case is simply its scale due to the volume of commerce at issue, given that chicken is one of the most commonly consumed foodstuffs in the United States.
Dr. Mangum and his team were retained to conduct expert analysis on behalf of an indirect purchaser class of commercial and institutional food preparers (think restaurants, schools, and other cafeterias). The team was specifically tasked with demonstrating that the conspiracy’s effects were not only widespread across direct purchasers, but that those effects were also passed through to indirect purchasers in the form of higher prices. Dr. Mangum developed multiple econometric models as part of his analysis. For example, Dr. Mangum utilized a regression model to demonstrate that defendant’s production of broilers was lower during the conspiracy period than predicted by the normal factors of supply and demand. Next, Dr. Mangum utilized multiple pricing regressions to demonstrate overcharges on different broiler chicken products (e.g., wings, breasts, and whole birds), after accounting for non-conspiratorial factors that affect price. These regression results were supported by additional evidence, such as analysis of pricing trends across different customers, geographies, and producers, as well as an analysis of the structure of the market and defendants’ collective market power.
Despite challenges from defendants, Dr. Mangum’s robust rebuttals and testimony in deposition and then in a bench trial during a May 2022 evidentiary hearing proved convincing. Following the hearing, on May 27, 2022, Judge Thomas M. Durkin certified three classes, including the indirect purchase class Dr. Mangum and his team had been retained by. Moreover, Judge Durkin rejected defendants’ attempts to exclude Dr. Mangum’s opinions under Daubert standards. This certification paved the way for ongoing analysis and settlements, reinforcing antitrust law’s role in protecting competitive markets.
The broiler case is a testament to the indispensable role of economic consulting in modern litigation and to the quality of work of the economists and consultants at Cirque Analytics. Dr. Mangum’s contribution exemplifies how meticulous data analysis and economic modeling can turn abstract allegations into concrete proof, which courts and clients can rely on to make critical decisions.