On February 10th, 2024, an affiliate of Burford Capital Ltd encountered a setback in their effort to become the new plaintiff in two price-fixing lawsuits pertaining to pork and beef. The cases were initially funded by food distributor Sysco Corp. This development was announced by a Federal Court on Friday.
The decision came amidst opposition from the defendant producers in the case, including Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. and JBS USA Food Co. The substitution was eventually rejected by Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty of the US District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Originally, Burford Capital had provided Sysco with a substantial $140 million to pursue the lawsuits. Tension occurred when Sysco attempted to settle with some defendants under conditions that Burford deemed unsatisfactory. The conflict was ostensibly resolved when Sysco’s antitrust claims were assigned to a “special purpose vehicle” established by Burford.
The Judge has expressed concern over this arrangement, stating that it would allow a financier, whose only interest in the litigation is to maximize profit, to undermine decisions made by the party that originally initiated the suit. He specified that this transfer has already created numerous practical complications in the proceedings.
To learn more about the individual cases, refer to the following links: In re Pork Antitrust Litig and In re Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litig. These are pivotal developments for corporate law practitioners to watch, given the stake of major corporations and the significance of antitrust law enforcement.
Originally reported by Brian Flood, this story was first published on February 10th, 2024 at Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc. More details can be found at Bloomberg Law.