A federal judge in Kansas City, Kansas, ordered Dow Chemical Co on Wednesday to pay $1.2 billion in a price-fixing case involving chemicals used to make foam products in cars, furniture and packaging, according to court documents.
Dow was one of several chemical company defendants named in a 2005 class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to fix urethane chemical prices, but it was the only defendant not to settle.
In January, Dow went to trial in Kansas City and in February a federal jury rendered a $400 million verdict against the chemical company after finding that it conspired to fix prices of urethane.
On Wednesday, US district judge John W Lungstrum denied Dow's request to overturn that verdict and the $400 million in damages were tripled under US antitrust law, bringing Dow's overall payment to $1.2 billion.
David Bernick, an attorney for Dow, said he would appeal the judgment, saying the statistical formula used by an expert to calculate the price-fixing was not reliable.
"Dow looks forward to pursuing these and other grounds for reversal in its appeal," a Dow spokesman said in a news release.
{{/usCountry}}"Dow looks forward to pursuing these and other grounds for reversal in its appeal," a Dow spokesman said in a news release.
{{/usCountry}}"Dow has always denied plaintiffs' allegations of price fixing."
Joe Goldberg, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was pleased with the judgment.
"The jury found the conspiracy caused approximately $400 million in damages to thousands of businesses around the United States," said Goldberg.
Other defendants in the case have settled. In 2006 Bayer AG agreed to pay $55 million. In 2011 Huntsman International LLC agreed to pay $33 million and BASF Corp agreed to pay $51 million. In settling, none of the companies admitted any wrongdoing.
The case is In Re Urethane Antitrust Litigation, US District Court, District of Kansas, 04-md-01616.