In Kansas City, Kansas, a federal judge ordered Wednesday, the Dow Chemical Company to pay $ 120 million price-fixing case involving chemicals used to make the foam products in the automotive, furniture and packaging, according to court documents.
Dow Jones index is a class action in 2005, one of the defendants accused had conspired polyurethane chemical products prices of several chemical companies, but it is the only defendant is not resolved.
In January this year, the Dow to go on trial in Kansas City and made ??a $ 400 million judgment in February, a federal jury, chemical companies conspired to fix the prices urethane.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum deny the Dow to overturn this ruling and U.S. $ 4,000,000 in compensation, according to the antitrust laws in the United States three times, so that the whole of the Dow to pay $ 120 million U.S. dollars.
David Bernick, Dow’s lawyer, said he appealed the verdict and said fixed price calculated by an expert statistical formula is not reliable.
“Dow is looking forward to the pursuit of these and other back in its grounds of appeal,” Dow spokesman said at a news conference. “Dow has consistently denied the plaintiff’s allegations of price-fixing.”
Joe Goldberg, plaintiffs’ lawyers said he was pleased with the judge.
The jury found that the conspiracy caused damage of about $ 400 million to thousands of businesses across the United States, “Goldberg said.
The case of the other defendants have settled. In 2006, Bayer agreed to pay $ 55 million. The Huntsman International Co., Ltd. agreed to pay $ 33 million in 2011, BASF agreed to pay $ 51 million. No company admitted any wrongdoing in the process of resolving.
The case is in re-polyurethane antitrust litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Kansas,04-MD-01616.
Dow Chemical Co. was ordered by a federal judge to pay a $1.2 billion judgment in a urethane price-fixing case after losing its bid to undo a jury’s verdict that it colluded with competitors.
U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum in Kansas City, Kan., on Wednesday rejected Dow Chemical’s request to overturn the $400 million February jury verdict. Lungstrum tripled the damages under U.S. antitrust law, making the award the biggest U.S. verdict this year. Dow said it would appeal.
Lungstrum rejected the company’s challenge to the verdict on grounds that the purchaser plaintiffs alleged a conspiracy spanning from 1999 to 2003 and were unable to prove its existence before November 2000.
“The absurdity of its premise – that Dow could escape liability for an illegal antitrust conspiracy because plaintiffs alleged a longer conspiracy than found by the jury — convinces the court that it should not create new law by adopting Dow’s position,” the judge said in a 30-page ruling.
The case started in 2005 with allegations that Dow plotted with BASF SE, Huntsman International LLC and Lyondell Chemical Co. in violation of federal law. Only Dow didn’t settle.
At the heart of the suit were urethane-based products used in the automotive, construction, appliance and furniture industries.
Dow denied the price-fixing allegations, maintaining there were legitimate business reasons for the evidence the plaintiffs cited as proof of their claims.
“Dow will appeal the judgment entered against it,” said Rebecca Bentley, a spokeswoman for the Midland, Mich., company. “We believe that the jury’s findings required that judgment should have been entered in Dow’s favor.”
A U.S. Justice Department investigation of the matter was closed in 2007 with no charges being filed, Bentley said.