Dow Chemical settles case citing Supreme Court uncertainty

The Daily News reported in 2013 that plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit claimed Dow fixed prices for urethane products with other companies.

A jury hit Dow with a $1.1 billion judgment in a price fixing case, and the company was appealing the verdict all the way to the Supreme Court.

Dow Chemical Co. had planned to take its fight against a $1.06 billion class-action lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court, but the death of Justice Antonin Scalia prompted the multinational corporation to alter its strategy and settle the case instead.

Scalia was a strong supporter of limiting class action lawsuits against companies.

Dow was originally ordered to pay some $400 million by a federal court in Kansas in 2013 for damages incurred by purchasers of a chemical used in furniture and appliances. Further, the judgment covered alleged legacy activity between 2000 and 2003.

Dow Chemical said in a statement that changes in the court meant an “increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class-action suits”, which changed how the company viewed its chances of success.

And the firm actually had an interesting reason why: It didn’t think that things would go its way in light of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.

The settlement in the Dow case resolves the largest USA court award for 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Scalia wrote the 5-4 ruling in 2011 that said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. couldn’t be sued by potentially a million female workers. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has vowed that any nominee pushed forward by President Barack Obama won’t get a confirmation vote this year.

Dow Chemical said Friday that it no longer thinks it could win its appeal because of Scalia’s death on February 13.

“While Dow is settling this case, it continues to strongly believe that it was not part of any conspiracy and the judgment was fundamentally flawed as a matter of class action law”, continued the company’s statement.

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