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To: All persons and entities who or which: (i) within the United States, directly sold to a Defendant one or more fed cattle for slaughter from June 1, 2015 to February 29, 2020 other than pursuant to a Cost-Plus Agreement and/or a Profit Sharing Agreement (the “Producer Class”); and/or (ii) held a long position in Live Cattle Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidated the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to November 1, 2016 (the “Exchange Class”).

Important Dates

September 15, 2025Deadline to Submit a Claim Form
July 7, 2025Deadline to Exclude yourself from the Cattle-JBS Settlement
July 7, 2025Deadline to Object or Comment on the Cattle-JBS Settlement
August 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM CTFinal Approval Hearing

A “Cost Plus Agreement” means an agreement to purchase fed cattle at a price determined, in all or in part, by applying an agreed mark-up to an accounting of costs incurred by the fed cattle seller in providing finished fed cattle.

A “Profit Sharing Agreement” means an agreement to supply fed cattle to a Defendant pursuant to which the Defendant: (a) financed all or part of the costs incurred by the seller in connection with the seller’s purchase of unfinished cattle and/or the seller’s efforts to finish unfinished cattle to slaughter weight (e.g., feed); and/or (b) agreed to share certain profits or losses of either the seller and/or the Defendant in relation to the cattle to be supplied.

The Notice of Pendency of Class Action, Hearing on Proposed Settlement and Attorneys’ Fees Petition, and Right to Share in Net Settlement Fund (“Notice”) is given pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (the “Court”). It is not junk mail, an advertisement, or a solicitation from a lawyer. You have not been sued.

The capitalized terms in these paragraphs, as well as other capitalized terms, are explained or defined below or in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement between Cattle Plaintiffs and JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., and JBS S.A. (the “Stipulation”). The Stipulation and the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order is posted on the Important Documents page.

The purpose of the Notice is to inform you of the settlement (“Cattle-JBS Settlement”) with JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, JBS Packerland, Inc., and JBS S.A. (collectively, “JBS,” and together with Cattle Plaintiffs, the “Parties”).

Please do not contact the Court regarding the Notice. Inquiries concerning the Notice, the Proof of Claim and Release Form (the “Claim Form”), or any other questions related to the Cattle-JBS Settlement should be directed to:

Cattle Antitrust Settlement

1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: 1-844-435-8844

Email: Info@CattleAntitrustSettlement.com

Cattle Plaintiffs allege that the nation’s four largest meat packers (the companies that buy fed cattle, slaughter them, and fabricate them into beef – JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef) conspired to reduce or eliminate competition among them for the purchase of fed cattle (cattle finished on a high energy ration), thereby artificially reducing the price cattle feeders received for their finished fed cattle. Cattle Plaintiffs allege these actions breach Section 1 of the Sherman Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Cattle Plaintiffs bring a separate, but related, claim under the Commodity Exchange Act, alleging Defendants manipulated the price of exchange-traded Live Cattle contracts through their conduct in the physical market and through their trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

JBS denies Cattle Plaintiffs’ allegations, denies any and all wrongdoing in connection with the facts and claims that have been or could have been alleged against it in the Action, and asserts that it has a number of valid defenses to Cattle Plaintiffs’ claims.

The Court preliminarily approved the Cattle-JBS Settlement. To resolve all Cattle Plaintiffs’ Released Claims against it, JBS agreed to pay a total of $83.5 million in cash. Settlement Class Members will not, by participating in the Cattle-JBS Settlement, release their claims against non-settling Defendants.

The following table contains a summary of your rights and options regarding the Cattle-JBS Settlement. More detailed information about your rights and options can be found in the Stipulation and Plan of Allocation.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS CATTLE-JBS SETTLEMENT
DO NOTHING	You are automatically part of a Settlement Classes if you fit one (or more) of the Settlement Class descriptions. However, if you do not timely submit a valid Claim Form, you will not receive any payment from the Net Settlement Fund. You will be bound by past and any future Court rulings, including rulings on the Cattle-JBS Settlement, if approved, and Cattle Plaintiffs’ Released Claims, but will not be eligible to receive any payment from the Net Settlement Fund. See FAQ 18.
SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM	You may be eligible to share in the Net Settlement Fund if you submit a valid Claim Form by no later than September 15, 2025. If you submit a Claim Form, you will remain in the Settlement Classes if you are a Settlement Class Member. You will be bound by past and any future Court rulings on the Cattle-JBS Settlement, if approved, and Cattle Plaintiffs’ Released Claims. See FAQ 12.
EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE CATTLE-JBS SETTLEMENT	If you wish to exclude yourself from the Cattle-JBS Settlement, you must submit a written request so that it is postmarked by July 7, 2025. If you exclude yourself, you will not be bound by the Cattle-JBS Settlement, if approved, or Cattle Plaintiffs’ Released Claims, and you will not be eligible for any payment from the Net Settlement Fund. See FAQs 19 through 23.
OBJECT TO THE CATTLE-JBS SETTLEMENT	If you wish to object to the Cattle-JBS Settlement, you must file a written objection with the Court by July 7, 2025, and serve copies on Co-Lead Counsel and JBS’s Counsel. You must be a Settlement Class Member and remain a Settlement Class Member (i.e., not exclude yourself) in order to object. See FAQs 24 and 25.
GO TO THE FAIRNESS HEARING	You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing about the Cattle-JBS Settlement by including such a request in your written objection, which you must file with the Court and serve copies on Co-Lead Counsel and JBS’s Counsel by July 7, 2025. The Fairness Hearing is scheduled for August 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. See FAQs 28 through 30.
APPEAR THROUGH AN ATTORNEY	You may, but are not required to, enter an appearance through your own counsel at your own expense. See FAQ 30.

These rights and options and the deadlines to exercise them are explained in the Notice.

You received a Notice because records indicate that you may be a Settlement Class Member in the Action because you may have, within the United States, directly sold to a Defendant one or more fed cattle for slaughter from June 1, 2015 to February 29, 2020 other than pursuant to a Cost-Plus Agreement and/or a Profit Sharing Agreement; and/or held a long position in Live Cattle Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidated the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to November 1, 2016.

If you are a commercial feedlot that finished fed cattle owned by your customers, the Court has directed that, WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THE NOTICE, you are to contact the Claims Administrator at the address above for further directions in providing the Notice to your customers. You may either be asked to: (i) provide to the Claims Administrator the name and last known address of each person or organization that you fed cattle for from June 1, 2015 to February 29, 2020; or (ii) forward the Notice directly to such persons or entities that meet the Producer Class definition. You may be reimbursed from the Settlement Fund for your reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in forwarding the Notice to Producer Class Members upon request to the Claims Administrator and submission of appropriate supporting documentation.

If you are a brokerage firm, futures commission merchant, nominee, or other persons or entities which held a long position in Live Cattle Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidated the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to November 1, 2016, for the beneficial interest of persons or organizations other than yourself, the Court has directed that, WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THE NOTICE, you are to contact the Claims Administrator at the address above for further directions in providing the Notice to your customers. You may either be asked to: (i) provide to the Claims Administrator the name and last known address of each person or organization on behalf of who or which you traded relevant instruments; or (ii) forward the Notice directly to such persons or entities that meet the Exchange Class definition. You may be reimbursed from the Settlement Fund for your reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in forwarding the Notice to Exchange Class Members upon request to the Claims Administrator and submission of appropriate supporting documentation.