Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the U.S. Department of Justice secured a settlement with agricultural data broker Agri Stats, Inc. for facilitating the sharing of competitively sensitive information among meat processors, reducing competition and raising prices for chicken, pork, and turkey. Under the settlement, Agri Stats will implement industry-wide changes to its information distribution practices and make monetary payments to participating states. The settlement aims to restore competition in the agriculture industry and lower grocery prices for consumers.
Agri Stats, Inc. must implement significant changes to its information distribution practices, including restrictions on the type of competitively sensitive information it can share and how it distributes such information, to restore competition in the meat processing industry. The company will also pay monetary penalties to the states involved in the settlement. These changes are industry-wide and aimed at preventing future anticompetitive coordination among meat processors.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor agreements with data brokers, particularly those in the agricultural or food processing industries, to ensure restrictions on the sharing of competitively sensitive business information, including costs, pricing strategies, and operational data. Vendor contracts should include explicit prohibitions on sharing such information with the vendor’s other clients, especially direct competitors of the contracting entity, to avoid antitrust liability. Additionally, data processing agreements should include antitrust compliance clauses requiring vendors to certify they do not facilitate anticompetitive information sharing, and outline remedies for breaches of these restrictions. Teams should also review customer agreements with meat processors or agricultural clients to ensure their own data sharing practices do not run afoul of antitrust laws.
Entity
Agri Stats, Inc.
Industry
Data Broker"Agri Stats, Inc. (“Agri Stats”)"
"May 08, 2026"
"Attorney General Ken Paxton"
"secured a monumental settlement"
"Agri Stats facilitated the sharing of costs and other competitively-sensitive information among meat processors. This information allowed competitors to closely monitor one another’s operations and pricing strategies, which reduced competition and enabled coordinated price increases across the industry."
"Agri Stats has agreed to make industry-shifting changes to how it distributes information and what information it can distribute. The company will also make monetary payments to the states involved."
$7.5M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a $7.5 million settlement with Tris Pharmaceuticals over alleged misrepresentations about the efficacy of Dyanavel XR, an ADHD drug marketed for children. The release says the company overstated the drug’s efficacy and directed sales representatives to make misleading claims to doctors, including Medicaid providers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an agreement with Plum Organics requiring stronger testing and limits for heavy metals in covered baby food products, along with publicly accessible testing results. The release does not state a monetary penalty; the agreement follows an ongoing investigation into baby food manufacturers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, its parent Health Care Service Corporation, and related entities over alleged denials or delays of urgent and medically necessary care and potentially burdensome prior authorization requirements. The investigation is ongoing; the Attorney General issued a Civil Investigative Demand to obtain information and assess potential violations of Texas law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a consumer alert warning Texas businesses and nonprofits about a surge of demand letters alleging California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) violations based on common website technologies such as cookies, pixels, and analytics tools. The AG cautions that some letters may exaggerate or misrepresent violations and may be fraudulent, noting serial CIPA plaintiff Vivek Shah has been declared a vexatious litigant. Recipients are advised not to pay or respond directly, to consult privacy counsel, and to report suspected fraud to the Consumer Protection Division.
A Texas state district court (Judge Cory Liu) has found TikTok liable for lying to parents about the safety of its platform and for exposing children to inappropriate and explicit content, making Texas the first state in the nation to hold TikTok liable on these claims. The court found that although TikTok claimed it would remove graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, injuries, and profanity, such videos remained accessible to minors, even under 'Restricted Mode.' No penalty has been imposed yet; Attorney General Paxton will proceed to trial, expected next month, where relief and penalties will be determined.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp., the U.S. government contractor that administers the VA Community Care Network and the Defense Health Agency's TRICARE West Region, over reports that it wrongfully denied health care claims by falsely treating insureds as having other health insurance (OHI). The OAG has issued Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) and plans to interview consumers and employees to determine whether TriWest violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. No findings or penalties have been imposed yet.