The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 31 rejected imprisoned cattleman Cody Easterday’s claim that Tyson Fresh Meats reneged on an oral contract to split the profits from selling “Cody’s Beef” in Japan.

The three-judge panel unanimously upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian, who dismissed the suit.

The appeals court agreed Easterday’s vague claim and “unclean hands” barred him from pursuing damages.

Easterday, 53, filed the lawsuit after he was sentenced to federal prison for defrauding Tyson out of $233 million by billing the meat-packer for what prosecutors called “ghost cattle.”

“Easterday neither expressed his understanding that the parties would share in the profits nor demanded payment from Tyson due to his fraudulent invoicing of ghost cattle,” according to the unsigned opinion.

Easterday had a contract to procure and raise cattle for Tyson’s beef-packing plant near Pasco in southeast Washington. Easterday billed Tyson for nonexistent cattle and pled guilty in 2021 to wire fraud.

Easterday was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Bastian, but the sentence was reduced to 8 years, 9 months because of a change in federal sentencing guidelines.

He is scheduled to be released in 2029 and is serving his sentence at a medium-security prison in Victorville, Calif., according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Easterday filed another post-conviction lawsuit against Tyson, claiming the company exploited its dominant position as a Northwest cattle buyer to force him to accept disadvantageous contract terms. Bastian dismissed the lawsuit.