Bought chicken since 2009? You’re owed some money

Virtually every adult in America could be due some money, thanks to a recent settlement over price-fixing in the poultry industry.

Claims are being taken from anyone who has bought chicken from January 2009 through Dec. 31, 2020. for a pending $181 million settlement in the class action Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation. To claim the cash, you’ll have to be a resident of one of 24 states or the District of Columbia.

Americans devour chicken unlike any meat. In 2018, 65.2 pounds of chicken per person were available for Americans to eat, according to the USDA. The lawsuit came about when restaurant chains, grocery stores and others sued the nation’s top poultry providers, including Pilgrim’s Pride, Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc., accusing them of fixing prices over an eight-year period. The U.S. Department of Justice later got involved.

The settlement was announced earlier this month.

To apply for your share of the settlement, head to OverchargedForChicken.com, where you can fill out an online form or, if you choose, print a PDF that can be mailed in.

You’ll have to live in California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, or Washington D.C. to participate.

The form will ask your best estimate of the number of packages of chicken you purchase on a weekly basis, along with the estimated cost. It needs to be completed and submitted by Dec. 31, 2022.