Appeals court ruling favors chicken firm

A New Orleans federal appeals court overturned a decision of a lower court against Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. to award $25 million to chicken growers who accused the Greeley based chicken processor of price fixing.

Pilgrim’s Pride (Nasdaq: PPC) closed a chicken-processing facility in El Dorado, Ark., in 2009 after it filed for bankruptcy protection. When the facility closed, more than 160 contract chicken growers who raised chickens for processing at the Pilgrim’s Pride facility were no longer needed, according to court documents.

A group of chicken growers sued Pilgrim’s Pride accusing the company of manipulating and controlling prices. Pilgrim’s Pride had closed…