Agricultural News
Court Reverses $10 Million Tyson Foods Verdict
Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:43:55 CST
The Oklahoma Supreme Court Tuesday reversed a $10 million jury verdict against Tyson Foods from April 2010 and ruled the company is entitled to a new trial in a case brought by contract chicken producers in McCurtain County.
The case involves 54 individuals and business entities that sued Tyson Foods in association with contracts under which they were to raise chickens owned by Tyson on feed supplied by the company.
The plaintiffs did not allege any contractual breach, but asserted they had been targeted with poor quality birds and feed because they refused to upgrade their chicken houses.
Tyson's attorneys claimed on appeal that some prospective jurors didn't fully or truthfully answer questions on jury questionnaires and that attorneys were not allowed to question them on the answers they provided.
The court sided with Tyson and also ruled that growers who did not own the chickens or the feed supplied to them are not considered 'aggrieved consumers' under the Consumer Protection Act.
You can read the court's full ruling by clicking here.
The Court concluded that "We realize the amount of effort put into this litigation by the bench, the bar, and the litigants. However, it goes without saying that any party to an action is entitled to have the case heard by fair, impartial, and disinterested jurors. Furthermore, a juror's concealment, whether intentional or accidental, of information pertinent to prejudice or bias, coupled with the parties' inability to question the jurors on relevant issues is sufficient to warrant a new trial."
As you might expect, the Tyson folks are delighted. The company issued the following statement:
This decision affirms our position that the trial in this case was so improperly conducted that the verdict could not stand. The family farmers who raise our chickens are vital to our business and we want them to be successful. Contrary to the claims made in the case, we abide by the terms of the contracts we have with poultry farmers and we strive to ensure all of them are treated fairly.
Tyson currently has contracts with more than 180 poultry farmers in southwest Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma to raise broiler chickens for our Broken Bow operation. More than 50 of them are in McCurtain County. Our Broken Bow plant and related operations, including a feed mill and hatchery, currently employ more than 1,700 people.
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