Companies in Barrow, Hall counties named in Chick-Fil-A lawsuit

Poultry plants in Bethlehem, Gainesville, and Oakwood

Two companies based in Hall County are defendants in a lawsuit filed by Atlanta-based Chick Fil A: Chick Fil A says Mar-Jac Poultry in Gainesville and Wayne Farms in Oakwood are inflating the cost of chicken. Harrison Poultry in Barrow County is also named in the lawsuit.

The metro Atlanta-based chain alleges that it purchased billions of dollars worth of chicken, its key food ingredient, “at prices that were artificially inflated” and that it was damaged by antitrust violations.

For several years, pricing fixing allegations and related lawsuits and indictments have roiled the poultry industry, by far the biggest and most lucrative sector in Georgia agriculture.