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Judge Throws Out Poultry Rendering Monopoly Case Filed by American Proteins

By  |  March 8, 2026

A federal judge has granted Tyson Foods Inc.’s motion for summary judgment in an antitrust lawsuit accusing the company of forcing a rival poultry rendering business out of the market. The ruling, issued March 3 by a judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division, also dismissed a separate motion for partial summary judgment filed by the plaintiff, American Proteins Inc. (API).

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    The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed in May 2022 that challenged Tyson’s 2018 purchase of API’s poultry rendering assets and operations. According to court documents, API had been a major player in the industry before the acquisition, ranking as the second-largest supplier of poultry rendering services in the United States and the largest in the Southeast region.

    API previously operated four rendering plants, including three facilities in Georgia and one in Alabama, according to court filings. Tyson, by comparison, ran nine profitable poultry rendering plants at the time of the acquisition, per a statement in the court record. Together, Tyson and API accounted for about 45% of poultry rendering services nationwide, according to court documents.

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    The lawsuit centered on allegations that Tyson conspired with other poultry companies to harm API’s business. In its complaint, API alleged that Tyson coordinated with Wayne Farms and Koch Foods to restrict access to raw poultry materials in the Southeast. According to a statement in the complaint, API argued the companies engaged in a group boycott or horizontal refusal to deal that ultimately allowed Tyson to obtain monopoly power in the poultry rendering market.

    Read more: Tyson Reaches Deal to End Pork Antitrust Case With Food Service Buyers

    Before the acquisition, Tyson, Wayne Farms, and Koch Foods were all major suppliers of raw materials to API in the region, according to court records. API claimed that the alleged coordination among the companies disrupted its supply chain and contributed to the company being pushed out of the market.

    US District Judge Richard W. Story ruled that API failed to establish the type of antitrust injury required to support its claims under federal law. According to the court’s decision, the plaintiff did not present sufficient evidence showing that Tyson’s actions violated antitrust statutes or caused the specific competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.

    As a result, the judge granted Tyson’s motion for summary judgment in full and dismissed API’s motion for partial summary judgment, effectively ending the case at the district court level, according to a statement in the ruling.

    Source: Meat Poultry