OK Foods loses appeal on $14.5 million verdict

A $14.5 million judgment against Fort Smith-based OK Industries has been upheld by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to Poultry Production News, the judgment results from a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 300 poultry farmers in eastern Oklahoma. The farmers, who had contracted with OK Foods to raise chickens, alleged that OK officials used their status as the only buyer in the area to manipulate in its favor what it paid to the farmers.

"We wanted fair treatment," Charlie Been, a former farmer who was part of the lawsuit, noted in the Poultry Production News article.

The case was first heard in 2008, with the farmers initially receiving a jury verdict of $21.1 million. The verdict was later reduced to $14.5 million by a district judge.

According to the article, OK Industries’ attorney Charles Goodwin said the company has not publicly announced if it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or ask for a rehearing with the full court of appeals.

In its Oct. 20 story, NewsOK quoted Goodwin as saying the case is likely to set a national precedent in terms of how poultry companies contract with farmers.

"The poultry companies are following this case very closely,” Goodwin said. "It could have some far-reaching effects.”

OK Industries, a regional poultry processing company, employs about 5,000 in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The company operates large processing plants in Fort Smith and Heavener, Okla.