US: Dow fails to use SCOTUS to fight $1.06B price-fixing award

Dow Chemical has reportedly failed to have a $1.06 billion price-fixing award tossed after arguing that new Supreme Court rules would require plaintiffs in class actions to sue individually.

According to report, the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the class action award, granted after polyurethane consumers charged Dow of conspiring to fix prices, will remain, adding that Dow’s argument of individual lawsuits does not apply in this case. Dow said it is “extremely disappointed” by the decision and vowed to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.

The nation’s highest court issued decisions in 201 and 2013 that placed a higher burden on class actions suing for damages.

Dow was one of several companies accused of price-fixing. A lawsuit filed in 2005 claimed the companies had manipulated product costs for six years; Dow was the only defendant in the case that declined to settle. A federal judge found the company liable for $400 million in damages, a figure that was tripled under antitrust law, though later reduced to the current $1.06 billion, according to reports.

Full content: Reuters

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.