Overview
- The Department of Justice and 17 state attorneys general filed the complaint and proposed settlements on June 30, 2026 to resolve civil claims against Cal‑Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman’s over alleged price manipulation.
- Prosecutors say the companies coordinated bidding from roughly June 2022 through March 2025 to influence daily price quotes published by Urner Barry, a market reporting service that underpins many wholesale egg contracts.
- Under the proposed deals the defendants would pay a combined $3.3 million and donate about 53 million eggs to food banks, with Cal‑Maine responsible for $1.5 million and 30 million eggs, Versova $800,000 and 20 million eggs, and Hickman’s $1 million and about 3.25 million eggs.
- All three companies denied liability and noted market shocks and ownership changes as context—Cal‑Maine left a cooperative in May 2024 and Hickman’s was acquired by JBS/Mantiqueira in late 2025—while the settlements require no admission of wrongdoing.
- The proposed orders must be approved by a federal judge and implemented under state and federal oversight, and critics say the payments are small compared with industry profits while states still must plan egg distribution and monitor compliance.