JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska has sued 21 businesses involved in the poultry industry, claiming the businesses operated a cartel and illegally inflated the price of most chicken sold in the state.
The Anchorage Daily News reported that the Alaska Department of Law filed a consumer-protection lawsuit late last month in state court and is seeking more than $1 billion from the nation’s largest poultry producers, distributors, and pricers. The lawsuit involves broiler chickens, which account for 98% of all chicken sold in the U.S. A department spokesperson says the state alleges a cartel of corporations tried to artificially inflate the price of broiler chicken. The producers collectively responded to one of many lawsuits, denying the allegations.
