Jenner & Block Trial Team Named Litigator of the Week Runners-Up
News
December 4, 2023
A Jenner & Block trial team was named Litigator of the Week Runners-Up by The American Lawyer for their work representing Kraft Heinz Co., Kellogg Co., General Mills Inc., and Nestle USA Inc. in antitrust litigation against the nation’s largest egg producers and two industry groups. The team secured $17.7 million in damages and the plaintiffs are entitled to have that amount trebled.
After a five-week trial, a federal jury in Illinois found Cal-Maine Food, Rose Acre Farms, United Egg Producers, and United States Egg Marketers liable for conspiring to inflate the prices of eggs from the late 1990s through at least 2008.
Our clients sued the defendants in 2011 for their antitrust violations. The price-fixing scheme involved various measures to restrict the egg supply such as prematurely slaughtering still-productive hens.
This verdict is the first holding these businesses liable for their actions. Two other sets of egg buyer plaintiffs failed to convince juries that the producers fixed the price of their eggs. Likewise, a similar matter involving price-fixing allegations for broiler chickens also failed before a jury in Chicago on October 26.
US Judge Steven Seeger, who presided over the case said, “The lawyering here is as good as any lawyering I’ve ever seen on the bench. I told you at the outset of the case that I wanted to see Major League Baseball, and you all delivered an All-Star game.”
Brandon Fox and Annie Kastanek argued the case. The trial team also included Angela Allen, Michael Brody, Amy Gallegos, Joel Pelz, Sati Harutyunyan, John VanDeventer, Christopher Sheehan, Margaret Hlousek, Christian Plummer, Reanne Zheng, and Matthew Summers.
Read more on the case here.
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© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.
News
December 4, 2023
A Jenner & Block trial team was named Litigator of the Week Runners-Up by The American Lawyer for their work representing Kraft Heinz Co., Kellogg Co., General Mills Inc., and Nestle USA Inc. in antitrust litigation against the nation’s largest egg producers and two industry groups. The team secured $17.7 million in damages and the plaintiffs are entitled to have that amount trebled.
After a five-week trial, a federal jury in Illinois found Cal-Maine Food, Rose Acre Farms, United Egg Producers, and United States Egg Marketers liable for conspiring to inflate the prices of eggs from the late 1990s through at least 2008.
Our clients sued the defendants in 2011 for their antitrust violations. The price-fixing scheme involved various measures to restrict the egg supply such as prematurely slaughtering still-productive hens.
This verdict is the first holding these businesses liable for their actions. Two other sets of egg buyer plaintiffs failed to convince juries that the producers fixed the price of their eggs. Likewise, a similar matter involving price-fixing allegations for broiler chickens also failed before a jury in Chicago on October 26.
US Judge Steven Seeger, who presided over the case said, “The lawyering here is as good as any lawyering I’ve ever seen on the bench. I told you at the outset of the case that I wanted to see Major League Baseball, and you all delivered an All-Star game.”
Brandon Fox and Annie Kastanek argued the case. The trial team also included Angela Allen, Michael Brody, Amy Gallegos, Joel Pelz, Sati Harutyunyan, John VanDeventer, Christopher Sheehan, Margaret Hlousek, Christian Plummer, Reanne Zheng, and Matthew Summers.
Read more on the case here.
Related Attorneys
Related Capabilities
Related Locations
© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.
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