Castagna v. Tyson

In December 2024, Legal Impact for Chickens sent an official books and records request to Tyson’s board on behalf of LIC’s shareholder client. The shareholder is demanding information about Tyson’s treatment of chickens and of workers. After sending the demand, LIC communicated with Tyson attorneys on the shareholder’s behalf regarding the documents to which our client is entitled. Unfortunately, the parties were unable to reach an agreement.

So, on August 21st, 2025, LIC represented the shareholder in filing a Delaware Code section 220 lawsuit against Tyson in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The complaint demands that Tyson allow our client to view records documenting the company’s treatment of workers and animals. The lawsuit comes on the heels of both child-labor allegations and an Animal Outlook undercover investigation that led to a Tyson chicken grower pleading guilty to charges of animal cruelty. Delaware law firms McCollom D’Emilio Smith Uebler LLC (MDSU) and Farnan LLP are co-counsel on the lawsuit.

Tyson filed an answer on September 23, 2025. In its answer, Tyson, the nation’s largest poultry producer, claimed that it “lack[ed] knowledge” as to whether “[b]irds who cannot stand or walk cannot access raised waterers” and whether “[b]irds who cannot stand or walk also cannot access feed trays, unless they lose mobility right next to or inside of a food tray.”

The parties then conducted discovery and filed their pre-trial briefs.