Last Chance: $117 Million Pork Settlement Claims Close Today
No receipts. No proof. Just a few minutes and a memory of buying bacon.
Today — October 29 — is the last day to file a claim in a $117 million antitrust settlement involving five of the biggest pork companies in America. After that, the window closes permanently.
What This Is About
A federal lawsuit in Minnesota accused Tyson, Clemens Food Group, Hormel, Seaboard, and Triumph of working together to artificially drive up pork prices. The allegation: these companies coordinated through a data-sharing service called Agri Stats to keep supply low and prices high — meaning American consumers paid more for pork and bacon than they should have. None of the companies admitted wrongdoing, but they agreed to pay a combined $117,065,000 to make the case go away.
This is the second round of settlements in the same case. Earlier this year, JBS and Smithfield settled for $95 million. That window closed in April. If you filed a claim then, you still need to file again for this one — it’s a separate fund.
Do You Qualify?
You need to have bought raw pork or bacon at a retail grocery store for personal use between June 28, 2014, and June 30, 2018. That’s a four-year window. Most people who regularly bought pork at any point during those years likely qualify.
The covered states are:
Arizona
California,
District of Columbia
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin
A few things that don’t qualify: organic pork, products labeled no-antibiotics-ever, and pre-seasoned or marinated pork. Standard raw chops, ribs, ground pork, fresh bacon — those are in.
You Don’t Need a Single Receipt
The claim form asks whether you bought eligible pork during that period and asks for your best estimate of your average monthly spending. That’s it. You’re not required to prove anything. They’re taking your word for it.
The payout per person scales proportionally — the more you spent on pork relative to other claimants, the larger your share. No per-person figure has been announced because it depends on how many people file. But the fund is real and the money is there.
File Right Now
It takes about five minutes online. Skip the paper form if you can — a mailed form has to be postmarked today, and machine postmarks can be dated a day or more after you actually drop the envelope. Online is cleaner and faster on OverchargedForPork.com. Save the confirmation code it emails you.
The final court approval hearing is December 11. Payments go out sometime after that, once any appeals wrap up. It won’t be immediate, but it will happen.
Tonight at midnight, the claim form goes dark. If you bought pork anytime between mid-2014 and mid-2018, you paid too much. This is how you get some of it back.
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