IBP Lawsuit Granted
Class-Action Status

LINCOLN, Neb. —(AP)— A lawsuit accusing the nation's largest meatpacker of using unfair practices to control the price of beef has been cleared to proceed by a federal judge.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom on Friday means that 10 cattlemen can try to prove that IBP Inc. engages in illegal practices. The class-action lawsuit includes all producers who sold cattle for slaughter to IBP since February 1994.

The cattle owners filed suit two years ago, claiming that Dakota City-based IBP colluded with other meatpackers to restrain competition and control prices.

IBP controls more than a third of the U.S. beef packing industry and last year processed more than 14 billion pounds of beef and pork. The company's sales last year totaled $12.8 billion.

The lawsuit contends IBP is violating antitrust laws by using large purchases of captive supplies of cattle — rather than bidding on open markets — to unfairly depress prices paid to producers.

IBP has argued that an oversupply of beef and limited access to foreign markets are to blame for low livestock prices.

Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for IBP, said he had not seen the ruling and could not comment on specific allegations.

``It makes no sense for us to do anything to hurt cattle producers when we depend upon them to supply our plants,'' he said.

Sens. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., and Tom Daschle, D-S.D., have introduced legislation that would require mandatory price reporting and increase access to domestic and foreign markets.