Tyson Fresh Meats on April 18 moved to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of taking advantage of its near monopoly on processing beef in the Northwest to exploit ex-cattle feeder Cody Easterday.

The suit, one of two filed by the imprisoned Easterday against Tyson, alleges the meatpacker violated the Sherman Act, Packers and Stockyards Act, and Washington Consumer Protection Act.

In a brief filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington, Tyson argues Easterday doesn’t have standing to sue since the company got cattle from Easterday Ranches, not from Cody Easterday personally.

Cody Easterday was president and part-owner of Easterday Ranches, but gave up control and filed for bankruptcy in 2021 shortly before pleading guilty to defrauding Tyson out of $233 million.

Tyson and Easterday Ranches settled all claims in bankruptcy court, according to Tyson.

An Easterday attorney, Jeffrey Jacobovitz of the Arnall Golden Gregory law firm, said in an email April 19 that lawyers are reviewing Tyson’s motion and plan to oppose it.

Easterday’s other lawsuit accuses Tyson of breaking an oral contract to share profits from selling meat in Japan marketed as “Cody’s Beef.”

U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian, who presides over both lawsuits, said last week he will dismiss the Cody’s Beef suit unless Easterday sharpens allegations to show Tyson’s purported misconduct took place in Eastern Washington. Easterday attorneys said they will file an amended complaint.

Bastian sentenced Easterday in October to 11 years in prison for defrauding Tyson. The lawsuits could reduce the $177.1 million that Easterday, 51, still owes Tyson in court-ordered restitution.

The antitrust lawsuit revolves around the business relationship between Tyson and Cody Easterday, in which Easterday bore the risk of losing money if cattle prices fell.

Easterday Ranches contracted to supply 145,000 to 180,500 head of cattle a year for Tyson’s plant in Pasco. Tyson reimbursed or advanced Easterday money to buy, feed and care for the cattle.

At slaughter, Tyson paid for the cattle based on a price set at Midwest feedlots, subtracting its upfront costs, plus interest, and also keeping $15 a head to ensure a return on its investment.

Depending on cattle prices, Easterday could end up owing Tyson money, according to a cattle-feeding agreement filed with the court.

Easterday claims he had to accept the terms because he had invested in expanding his feedlots and had no practical alternative to supplying Tyson’s nearby beef plant.

Tyson consolidated its control as a buyer by closing its Boise beef plant in 2006 and imposing an agreement in 2010 that put the risk of falling cattle prices on Easterday, according to the lawsuit.

Tyson denies engaging in any antitrust activities, arguing it wasn’t obligated to keep its Boise plant open to compete with its Pasco plant.

Even after the Boise plant closed, the Northwest was a “cattle-deficit region,” and Tyson had to ship cattle from Midwest feeders to supply the Pasco plant, according to Tyson.

Easterday billed Tyson to feed and care for more than 265,000 head of cattle that didn’t exist. Easterday blamed the scheme on a gambling addiction that led to losing more than $200 million betting on the future price of cattle.

He still faces allegations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that he filed false reports with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to increase his speculation. Attorneys informed Bastian this week that Easterday and the commission are negotiating a settlement.

The commission settled separately with Easterday Ranches for $30 million, though the money apparently will never be collected because of the company’s bankruptcy.