About two dozen beef suppliers and cattlemen recently decided to join a federal Packers and Stockyards Act lawsuit filed by “livestock sellers that claim Kane Beef Processors LLC owes them millions of dollars.” It turns out, Kane Beef Processors LLC, based in Corpus Christi, has been paying $500,000 each month to settle with the cattlemen and beef suppliers, but new businesses have stepped forward arguing they have a “cause to join the case.”The parties planning to join the Packers and Stockyards Act lawsuit include the following, according to court documents:"Amigos Beef Cattle Company, LLC, Cal-Tex Feedyard, Inc., Carrizo Feeders, Ltd., Chaparral Feeders, Inc., Charco Cattle Feeders, Dawn Custom Cattle Feeders, Inc., Driskill Feedyard, Inc., Graham Land and Cattle Company, Immel Feedyard, Lipan Cattle Feeders, LLC, Live Oak Feedlot, Inc., Livestock Investors, Ltd. d/b/a Bar G Feedyard, Lubbock Feeders, LLC, Luckey Custom Feedlot, Inc., McDonald Bar 6 Feedlot, Morales Feed Lots, Inc., Rumiells Peters Feedyards, LLC, Santa Fe Feeders, Ltd., Shearrer Feedlot, Inc., Stan- Feedyards, Ltd., and Texana Feeders, Ltd."What is the Packers Stockyards Act, though? Well, for starters, it's described by many industry experts as a “fair trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat and poultry industries." Enacted in 1921, the aim of the law is to provide payment protection and promote fair competition while protecting against fraudulent trade practices.

Downtown Corpus Christi; image courtesy of Mglsndst1993 via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Earlier this year, Kane Beef Processors LLC, a beef processing company, entered into an agreement to “repay $38 million to livestock sellers to comply with the Packers and Stockyards Act.” According to the company, Kane Beef planned on paying $500,000 per month for six months to settle the matter. If the company failed to do so, the “court could appoint a receiver to manage Sam Kane financial affairs.”The agreement also included plans for the beef processing company to pay down it's 2.4 million debt it accrued with Corpus Christi for utilities. Earlier this year in May, Kane Beef negotiated a payment plan with city officials to pay a portion of its utility debts “with the promise to pay the rest.” According to city records, Kane Beef has so far paid $1,400,427.90 to cover the following three debts:

• A $279.805.32 Bounced Check Fee

• Outstanding Utility Bills Totalling $1,830,659.38

• An April Utility Bill Totalling $270,302,95

In addition to the abovementioned debts, the company also “owed another $400,000 in unpaid property taxes.” According to the terms of the agreement, Kane Beef has until January 31 to repay its tax obligation in full.Kane Beef is a beef processing plant that was in the Kane family since the 1940s. However, ownership of the company changed hands in 2013 when a “group of Texas ranchers and cattlemen, calling themselves Sam Kane Beef Processors Inc., purchased it.” Two years later, the company was sold again to the “the Fernandez Group, which is comprised of a South American businessman and his sons.”

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More plaintiffs join lawsuit against Kane Beef Corpus ChristiCattlemen Seek to Join Suit Against Kane Beef