Rose Acre Farms Lawsuit: Egg Price-Fixing, Salmonella, and USDA Takings

The Rose Acre Farms lawsuit drawing the most attention right now is a nationwide egg price-fixing class action filed in November 2025, which accuses the Indiana-based producer and several competitors of using the 2022 avian flu outbreak as cover to inflate shell egg prices. The case has since been consolidated with related complaints into a federal multidistrict litigation in Wisconsin. It is the newest chapter in a long legal record that also includes earlier antitrust trials, a federal discrimination settlement, a major salmonella recall, and a constitutional takings claim Rose Acre itself brought against the U.S. government.

The 2025 Egg Price-Fixing Class Action

On November 6, 2025, New York grocer King Kullen Grocery Co. filed a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against Rose Acre Farms, Cal-Maine Foods, Versova Holdings, Daybreak Foods, several Hillandale Farms entities, and the pricing agencies Urner Barry Publications, Egg Clearinghouse, and United Egg Producers. The case is captioned King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc. v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., et al., No. 1:25-cv-02274.¹²

The complaint alleges that the defendants conspired beginning no later than January 2022 to fix and raise the price of conventional shell eggs by manipulating industry benchmark prices published by Urner Barry and exchanging competitively sensitive information through Urner Barry’s platform and the Egg Clearinghouse. Plaintiffs argue that the producers pointed to the late-2021 avian flu outbreak to justify sharp price increases even though flock reductions were modest and feed and fuel costs were falling. The complaint notes that Europe saw larger bird flu-related supply losses but only modest price increases over the same period.³⁴

The proposed class covers all persons and entities that bought shell eggs directly from any defendant producer since January 1, 2022. King Kullen is asking for a jury trial, compensatory damages, treble damages under federal antitrust law, disgorgement of profits, and injunctive relief.²

The DOJ Investigation Running Alongside It

The civil complaints followed reports in March 2025 that the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division, working out of its Chicago office, had opened an inquiry into potential antitrust violations in the egg industry. The DOJ began preparing civil investigative demands directed at multiple producers, including Cal-Maine Foods and Rose Acre Farms, focused on whether they had shared sensitive pricing and supply information.⁵

Cal-Maine publicly confirmed receiving a civil investigative demand and said it was cooperating. Wholesale egg prices dropped more than 60 percent within weeks of the news breaking. No criminal charges had been filed as of the most recent reporting.³

Consolidation Into MDL 3175

A wave of additional class complaints followed King Kullen’s, brought by direct and indirect shell egg purchasers in federal courts in Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri. On February 10, 2026, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the cases into In re: Shell Eggs Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 3175, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The proceeding is assigned to Chief Judge James D. Peterson. The panel chose Wisconsin in part because defendant Daybreak Foods is headquartered there and two of the initial lawsuits were already pending in the district. A conditional transfer order dated February 19, 2026, identified additional tag-along cases.⁶⁷

The MDL remains in a preliminary pretrial phase, with attorneys preparing class certification motions. None of the defendants have publicly commented on the merits, and lawyers for the producers either declined to comment or did not respond to press inquiries.⁷

The Earlier Egg Antitrust Cases

Rose Acre has been on this ground before. In In re: Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-md-02002, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, plaintiffs alleged that egg producers had conspired between roughly 2000 and 2008 to shrink domestic supply and inflate prices through exports, flock reductions, and early hen slaughter. Ten of the thirteen defendants settled for a combined $150 million. Rose Acre, Ohio Fresh Eggs, and R.W. Sauder went to trial. After 27 days of trial in 2018 before Judge Gene E.K. Pratter, the jury found that a supply-reduction conspiracy existed and that Rose Acre had participated, but that the conspiracy did not unreasonably restrain trade. The Third Circuit affirmed the defense verdict in March 2021.⁸⁹

A separate set of plaintiffs in the same MDL — Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg, and Nestlé — took their claims to trial later. In December 2023, a Chicago federal jury ordered Rose Acre Farms, Cal-Maine Foods, United Egg Producers, and United States Egg Marketers to pay $17.7 million for overcharging those manufacturers during a four-year window in the mid-2000s. Federal antitrust law automatically trebled the award to more than $53 million.⁸¹⁰

Further back, Rose Acre was the defendant in a widely cited Seventh Circuit predatory pricing case, A.A. Poultry Farms, Inc. v. Rose Acre Farms, Inc. (1989). Seven rival processors sued under the Robinson-Patman Act and the Sherman Act, claiming Rose Acre sold eggs below cost to drive competitors out. Plaintiffs pointed to remarks by Rose Acre’s president, who reportedly told a rival, “We are going to run you out of the egg business.” A jury awarded $9.3 million, trebled to $27.9 million, but the district court entered judgment for Rose Acre. Judge Frank Easterbrook, writing for the Seventh Circuit, affirmed. The court held that predatory pricing claims require a realistic prospect of “recoupment” through later monopoly pricing, which the competitive, unconcentrated egg market made impossible, and that evidence of predatory intent is irrelevant because the desire to outcompete rivals is inherent in competition.¹¹

The 2018 Salmonella Recall and FDA Warning Letter

In April 2018, Rose Acre voluntarily recalled more than 206 million shell eggs produced at its Hyde County, North Carolina, facility after a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Braenderup was traced to the farm. The CDC linked the outbreak to 45 infections across 10 states, with six hospitalizations. Genetic sequencing matched the outbreak strain to environmental samples from the plant and one of the laying houses.¹²¹³

In September 2018, the FDA issued a formal warning letter cataloging what inspectors had found: an ongoing rodent infestation documented in the company’s own records dating back months, with more than 40 live rodents observed across eight laying houses during the inspection; condensation dripping onto production equipment; improper sanitizer concentrations; flying insects in the processing plant; and employee practices leading to cross-contamination. Rose Acre reported it was depopulating flocks, disinfecting the laying houses, and contracting with a professional exterminator. The FDA warned that failure to correct the violations could result in seizure or injunction. The recall was the largest U.S. egg recall since 2010.¹⁴¹³

The DOJ Immigration Discrimination Settlement

In June 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Rose Acre for discriminating against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens in hiring. The complaint said that from at least June 2009 through December 2011, Rose Acre required newly hired non-citizens to produce specific Department of Homeland Security documents — a Permanent Resident Card or Employment Authorization Document — while allowing U.S. citizens to choose whichever documentation they wished. The DOJ traced the practice to electronic employment verification software that prompted HR staff to demand specific documents based on citizenship status.¹⁵

In August 2018, Rose Acre settled with the DOJ, agreeing to a $70,000 civil penalty, employee training on the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and two years of government monitoring.¹⁶¹⁷

Rose Acre’s Takings Case Against the USDA

Not every Rose Acre lawsuit has had the company as defendant. In 1990, Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks were traced to three Rose Acre farms in Indiana. USDA regulations restricted the interstate sale of eggs from contaminated flocks and required depopulation, cleaning, and testing. The three farms were barred from selling table eggs for a combined 25 months, and the affected eggs went to the pasteurization market at lower prices.¹⁸

Rose Acre sued the federal government in 1992 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, arguing the restrictions amounted to an unconstitutional taking under the Fifth Amendment. That court awarded roughly $5.4 million plus $3.3 million in fees and expenses. The Federal Circuit reversed in March 2009, finding that the economic impact was not severe enough to constitute a taking when measured against Rose Acre’s full operations of approximately 135 million dozen eggs, and emphasizing that the regulations served a compelling public health purpose. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2010.¹⁹²⁰

The 2025 Packaging Suit Against Tri-Cor

Rose Acre was also the plaintiff in a smaller commercial dispute filed in April 2025. In Indiana Commercial Court in Marion County, the company sued Tri-Cor Flexible Packaging, Inc., alleging that polyethylene bags purchased for shipping dried egg yolk powder were defective, with seams splitting open and exposing the product to contamination. Rose Acre said it had already reimbursed one customer more than $21,000 for damaged goods and paid $1,050 in return freight, with further complaints expected. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and breach of implied warranties.²¹²²

About Rose Acre Farms

Rose Acre Farms began in the 1930s when the Rust family started raising chickens in rural Indiana with two henhouses of 500 birds each. David Rust started selling shell eggs to grocers in the early 1940s and bought 40 acres in 1954. The company grew into the second-largest egg producer in the United States, operating 17 facilities across seven states.²³ Marcus Rust served as CEO until October 2024, when Tony Wesner, with the company since 1981 and COO since 2011, was named CEO and chairman. Marcus Rust moved into an advisory role as “chief visionary officer.”²⁴

1
Top Class Actions. Class Action Lawsuit Says Egg Producers Blamed Bird Flu To Hide Price-Fixing Scheme
2
DiCello Levitt. DiCello Levitt Co-Counsel File Class Action Alleging Price-Fixing in the U.S. Egg Industry
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The Poultry Site. US Egg Producers Hit With New Price-Fixing Lawsuits
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Post-Crescent. Lawsuits Accuse Egg Producers of Fixing Prices After Avian Flu Losses
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The New York Times. U.S. Egg Prices Investigation
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GovInfo. In Re Shell Eggs Antitrust Litigation Transfer Order
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The Indiana Lawyer. Federal Lawsuits Mount Against Top Egg Producers
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WFYI. Jury Orders Egg Suppliers to Pay $17.7 Million in Damages for Price Gouging in 2000s
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Feedstuffs. Egg Farms Cleared of Antitrust Charges
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The Poultry Site. US Jury Awards $17.7 Million in Egg Price-Fixing Case
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Justia. A.A. Poultry Farms, Inc. v. Rose Acre Farms, Inc.
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FDA. Rose Acre Farms Recalls Shell Eggs Due to Possible Health Risk
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Food Safety News. FDA Confirms Outbreak Strain at Rose Acre’s Egg Facility
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FDA. Rose Acre Farms Hyde County Warning Letter
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U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Rose Acre Farms Indiana Alleging Discrimination
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U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Nation’s Second Largest Egg Producer
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Feedstuffs. DOJ Settles Discrimination Claim Against Rose Acre Farms
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FindLaw. Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. United States
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Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, Iowa State University. Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. United States, 559 F.3d 1260
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U.S. Department of Justice. Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. United States – Opposition
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The Indiana Lawyer. Indiana Egg Farm Sues Company for Alleged Faulty Packaging That Resulted in Contamination
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Hoosier Ag Today. Rose Acre Farms Lawsuit
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Rose Acre Farms. Company History
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Feedstuffs. Rose Acre Farms Announces Leadership Transitions