Cody Easterday

Cody Easterday’s lawyers argued in a court filing Wednesday that the imprisoned cattle-feeder has standing to sue Tyson Fresh Meats over its business practices, noting the company has its own legal problems.

The filing responded to Tyson’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the company of violating antitrust laws while depressing prices for cattle Easterday supplied to Tyson’s beef plant in Pasco, Wash.

Easterday’s attorneys stated that Tyson, in its motion, subtly attacked Easterday’s credibility, but didn’t mention a jury last year in New Mexico found that Tyson deceived cattle supplier Zia Agricultural Consulting.

The jury awarded Zia $2.5 million in actual damages and $8 million in punitive damages.

Tyson has also been a defendant in antitrust cases, including a federal class-action lawsuit in Minnesota that accuses Tyson and other meatpackers of fixing prices, Easterday’s attorneys noted.

Easterday’s lawsuit takes aim at Tyson’s “Pioneer Model,” in which Easterday was purportedly a “caretaker” of Tyson’s cattle, but bore the entire risk of losing money if cattle prices fell.

The attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Richland to not let Easterday’s fraud conviction deny him the chance to prove he suffered damages during the preceding decade.

“A packer forcing a feedlot to assume 100% of the risk associated with cattle allegedly owned by the packer is an anti-competitive arrangement that would not occur in a competitive market,” the brief reads.

Easterday, who is serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding Tyson out of $233 million, is also suing Tyson for allegedly reneging on a deal to share profits from selling meat labeled “Cody’s Beef” in Japan.

Tyson denies the allegations in both lawsuits and argues that Easterday lacks standing to sue because the business deals were between Tyson and Easterday Ranches, not Cody Easterday personally.

Tyson argues it settled all claims with Easterday Ranches in bankruptcy court. It calls the lawsuits bids to manipulate the $177.1 million Easterday still owes in restitution.

According to the antitrust lawsuit, Easterday was paid based on prices for cattle from feedlots in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota.

The lawsuit claims that basing prices on regions with a surplus of cattle artificially depressed prices in the Northwest, a region with a cattle shortage.

Tyson’s margins were so high it could afford to pay the freight and import cattle from the Midwest for processing at its Pasco plant, the lawsuit claims.

Easterday had no choice but to accept the terms because of Tyson’s dominant position as a cattle buyer in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, Packers and Stockyards Act and the Washington Consumer Protection Act.

Easterday last week agreed to pay a $1 million fine to settle civil charges filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Easterday filed false statements with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to increase his speculative trading in the cattle futures market.

Easterday lost more than $200 million and sought to regain his losses by billing Tyson to procure and feed more than 265,000 head of cattle that didn’t exist. Bastian, the judge, must approve the settlement with the commission.