US: Third circuit denies rehearing in DuPont price-fixing suit

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Wednesday, December 6, denied Valspar Corp.’s request for an en banc rehearing of a decision to toss a US$176 million antitrust lawsuit accusing DuPont of conspiring to fix the price of a paint ingredient.

Judge Thomas Hardiman said in a one-page order that the court declined to revisit a split decision from October affirming a lower court’s ruling that Valspar failed to prove the Wilmington-based chemical giant engaged in a scheme with competitors to fix the price of titanium dioxide.

Attorneys for Valspar had petitioned for a rehearing before the whole court, saying the opinion ”eviscerates” antitrust protections by establishing an “unprecedented summary judgment standard for plaintiffs trying to prove a price-fixing conspiracy” in the appeals court.

Full Content: Law 360

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