J.E. Lawrence and Company
is currently managing client claims for the following class action settlements and refunds.

J.E. Lawrence and Company specializes in
managing client claims in class action settlements.

MasterCard and Visa is the largest class action settlement in US history

A provision of the CARES Act refunding companies up to $26,000/employee.

Pork Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation

Chicken Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation

Cattle and Beef Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation

Domestic Airline Antitrust Litigation

Claim what's yours.

Current Claims Recovery and Refund Cases

The following is an overview of the current class action settlements and refund programs we’re working on. To learn if you may have a claim in one or more of these cases, please contact us immediately to see if you qualify and discuss how to authorize JEL to manage your claim.

Visa and MasterCard

MasterCard/Visa is the largest class action
settlement in US history. Don’t miss out!

Settlement: $5.56 to $6.26 billion

Defendants:

• The Visa network and its member banks

• The MasterCard network and its member banks

Background:

Plaintiffs allege that defendants Visa, MasterCard and their member banks have engaged in anti-competitive practices, including collusion, that artificially inflated the interchange fee that all merchants paid (and continue to pay) to accept Visa and MasterCard branded credit and debit cards. It is further alleged that interchange fees, which are neither cost-based nor negotiated between merchants and the banks with whom they deal directly, raise merchant discount fees to supra-competitive levels and have generated enormous profits for the Bank Defendants with respect to interchange fees in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

Who Is Eligible?

All persons, businesses, and other entities that have accepted Visa and/or MasterCard Credit and/or Debit Cards in the United States from approximately January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019. This Class does not include the named Defendants, their directors, officers, or members of their families, or their co-conspirators, or the United States Government.

Note: US government entities are not eligible, but other categories such as state schools, state hospitals, and 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible as long as they have not already opted out of the litigation and they accepted visa or Mastercard during the relevant period.

 

Class members need not sign up for a third-party service in order to participate in any monetary relief. Claim forms are being delivered and are available online beginning December 1, 2023. No-cost assistance is available from the Class Administrator and Class Counsel during the claims-filing period. For additional information regarding the status of the Case, Client may visit the Court-approved website for this Case at ’www.paymentcardsettlement.com’. 

Employee Retention Credit Program

A provision of the CARES Act compensating companies for remaining open during the COVID pandemic. Don’t miss out!

Receive a refund of up to $26,000/W-2 employee

Background:

With the CARES Act, Congress has created a refund program for small and mid-sized businesses called the Employee Retention Credit (ERC).

For companies that were able to retain their employees during the Covid-19 pandemic, this stimulus program is designed to help compensate them by paying a refundable tax credit – a grant, not a loan – that companies can use for future operations. Not surprisingly, more than 70% of companies don’t even know this opportunity exists!

JEL is partnering with the #2 ERC company in the country to help our clients take advantage of this refund opportunity. The ERC program could pay qualifying businesses a substantial amount of money from the $400 billion authorized by the act.

ERC clients are averaging $10,000 per W-2 employee! And best of all, the check typically arrives from the IRS within 4 – 6 months!

Who Is Eligible?

The number of ways in which a business can qualify has been expanded from the original three in 2021 to eighteen! To see if your company qualifies, schedule a conversation with a JEL Account Executive today.

He’ll connect you with one of our expert ERC advisors who will determine if you qualify, calculate the size of your refund, and provide answers to any other questions you may have. Although the program is complex, your dedicated advisor will guide you and outline the steps you’ll need to take so you can maximize the claim for your business.

To set up a conversation with your JEL account executive, use the “Claim what’s yours” contact form in the upper right of this screen. It’s worth the few minutes it will take to review your case to find out if you qualify for tens of thousands of dollars in refunds.

Important note: If you have already checked on your own to see if you qualify for the ERC program and were told “No”, the good news is that the number of ways you might qualify have recently been increased. So, it’s worth the few minutes it will take to have us review your case to find out if we can help. To date, we’ve helped approximately 80% of firms that were initially turned down to actually qualify!

Domestic Airline
Antitrust Litigation

Settlement: $60 Million To Date

Defendants:

• American Airlines

• Southwest Airlines

• Delta Airlines (not yet settled)

United Airlines (not yet settled)

 

Background:

It is alleged that the four largest commercial airline passenger carriers in the United States colluded to limit capacity of domestic air passenger seats with the goal of keeping air prices artificially high within the United States, it’s territories and the District of Columbia.

Who Is Eligible?

The “Class” or “Classes” is defined to include all persons and entities that purchased air passenger transportation services for flights within the United States and its territories and the District of Columbia from any of the listed airlines or any predecessor, subsidiary or affiliate. If you purchased airline tickets during the below dates from either American Airlines or Southwest Airlines you are eligible for a refund on a percentage basis.

American Airlines, Inc.

July 1,2011 through June 14, 2018

Southwest Airlines

July 1,2011 through December 20, 2017

Delta Airlines, Inc.

TBD

United Airlines, Inc.

TBD

Pork Direct
Antitrust Litigation

Settlement: $101,864,300 To Date

Defendants:

• Settled defendants: Smithfield Foods, Inc. (“Smithfield”) and JBS USA Food Company, JBS USA Food Company Holdings, and Swift Pork Company (collectively, “JBS”) and their related or affiliated entities

 

Background:

It is alleged that Defendants and their co-conspirators participated in a conspiracy “from at least 2009 to the present to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price of pork.”

Who Is Eligible?

The “Class” is defined to include all persons and entities that purchased any Pork product directly from a Pork producer for use or delivery in the United States from January 1, 2009, through January 12, 2021.

Broiler Chicken End-User Consumer Indirect Purchaser Antitrust

Settlement: $188 million To Date

Defendants:

The Defendants and co-conspirators are chicken processors in the United States. In the notice, “Settling Defendants” refers to Fieldale, George’s, Mar-Jac, Peco, Pilgrim’s, and Tyson. “Non-Settling Defendants” refers to Agri Stats, Inc., Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc.; Foster Farms, LLC and Foster Poultry Farms; Harrison Poultry, Inc., House of Raeford Farms, Inc.; JCG Foods of Alabama, LLC, JCG Foods of Georgia, LLC, Koch Foods, Inc. and Koch Meats Co., Inc.; Mountaire Farms, Inc., Mountaire Farms, LLC, and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc.; Koch Foods, Inc., JCG Foods of Alabama, LLC, JCG Foods of Georgia, LLC, and Koch Meat Co., Inc.; O.K. Foods, Inc., O.K. Farms, Inc., and O.K. Industries, Inc.; Perdue Farms, Inc. and Perdue Foods LLC; Sanderson Farms, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Foods Division), Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division) and Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Production Division); Wayne Farms, LLC; Mountaire Farms, Inc., Mountaire Farms, LLC, and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc.; Foster Farms, LLC; House of Raeford Farms, Inc.; and Simmons Foods, Inc. and Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. End-User Consumer Plaintiffs have reached Settlements with the Settling Defendants, but the End-User Consumers’ case is proceeding against the Non-Settling Defendants. Those other Non-Settling Defendants may be subject to separate settlements, judgments, or class certification orders. If applicable, you will receive a separate notice regarding the progress of the litigation and any resolution of claims against other Non-Settling Defendants.

Background:

Plaintiffs allege that alleges Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain, and stabilize the price and supply of chicken products, as of January 1, 2009, with the intent and expected result of increasing prices of chicken products in the United States, in violation of federal and state consumer and antitrust laws. Defendants deny these allegations.

Who Is Eligible?

The “Class” is defined to include all persons and entities who indirectly purchased fresh or frozen raw chicken (defined as whole birds (with or without giblets), whole cut-up birds purchased within a package, or “white meat” parts including breasts and wings (or cuts containing a combination of these), but excluding chicken that is marketed as halal, kosher, free range, or organic) from Defendants or alleged co-conspirators for personal consumption.

Cattle and Beef Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation

Settlement: $52.5 million To Date

Defendants:

The Defendants and co-conspirators are beef producers in the United States.

“Settling Defendants” refers to Defendants JBS S.A., JBS USA Food Company, Swift Beef Company, and JBS Packerland, Inc. (collectively, “JBS”).

Non-Settling Defendants refers to Defendants Cargill, National Beef, and Tyson

The case is proceeding against the other Non-Settling Defendants and may be subject to separate settlements, judgments, or class certification orders. JEL Clients will receive a separate notice regarding the progress of the litigation and any resolution of claims against other Non-Settling Defendants.




Background:

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants and their co-conspirators conspired with other beef producers (Cargill, National Beef and Tyson), the purpose and effect of which was to suppress competition and to allow these companies to charge supra-competitive prices for case-ready and boxed beef during the Settlement Class Period.

Who Is Eligible?

The “Class” is defined to include all persons and entities who, from January 1, 2015, through February 10, 2022, purchased for use or delivery in the United States, directly from any of the Defendants or their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, boxed or case-ready beef processed from Fed Cattle, excluding ground beef made from culled cows.