A US appeals court has unanimously upheld a ruling that clears Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., a subsidiary of Tyson Foods, of any wrongdoing in a long-running cattle pricing lawsuit, the company has stated.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision made last year to reverse a jury verdict against Tyson. The appeals court upheld the decision that Tyson did not violate the law through its supply agreements with independent cattle producers and Tyson has legitimate business reasons for entering into such agreements.

The plaintiffs had claimed Tyson used cattle marketing agreements to manipulate the price of cattle, and asked the federal courts to enjoin the use of marketing agreements.

According to the appeals court ruling, "The evidence is undisputed that marketing agreements provide a more reliable and stable supply of cattle for meat packers, reduce their transaction costs for purchasing cattle, and allow them to better match price to actual quality and yield."

"We're extremely satisfied by this decision, which protects the freedom of

US producers to market cattle the way they want and proves our livestock buying practices are proper," said John Tyson, chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods.