Adam J. Zapala

Zapala says some of the cases he is working on are among the most important antitrust cases pending in the country right now. They raise truly “bread-and-butter issues for the American consumer,” he said.

More precisely, they raise issues about meat. He is a lead co-counsel for certain plaintiffs suing Foster Farms, Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms and other chicken processors for allegedly agreeing to restrict production of broilers to increase the price. He is the lead counsel for direct purchasers accusing Cargill, Tyson Foods and other beef packers of scheming to depress the price for cattle and raise the price of processed beef. And he is part of an informal plaintiffs’ steering committee in a case alleging price-fixing of Norwegian farmed salmon.

The cases deal with “how expensive are the proteins [consumers] are buying for their families day in and day out,” he said.

In the broilers case, he represents a class of restaurants. “You could hardly think of a group of folks who’ve been harder hit by the pandemic,” he said. So far, he and co-counsel have brought in more than $100 million in settlements in the complex case. In re: Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, 1:16-cv- 08638 (N.D. Ill., filed Sept. 2, 2016).

The beef case is newer, but it has potential, Zapala said. “It’s a massive market, almost two or three times the size of the pork market.” In re: DPP Beef Antitrust Litigation, 20-cv-01319 (D. Minn., filed June 6, 2020).

Zapala also serves as a co-lead counsel in another case he considers important for consumers, this one against four major airlines for allegedly conspiring to reduce capacity and boost prices. Southwest and American Airlines reached settlements totaling $60 million, leaving Delta and United still in the case. “I think it’s a great jury case,” he said.

In other matters, he is pursuing price-fixing allegations against the two closely related Chinese companies that make most consumer telescopes and he is going after two large hospitals in central Pennsylvania for agreeing not to hire each other’s doctors, nurses and other skilled employees. “We think it’s really important to get compensation to these frontline workers,” Zapala said.

Closer to home, he is wrapping up settlement details in a pro bono class action against the local Catholic archdiocese for allegedly not contributing properly to its employees’ health benefits accounts.

He said his firm is always looking to take on such cases, large or small, “that make a real difference in people’s lives.”

— Don DeBenedictis