HARTFORD, Conn. (March 5, 2009)-A judge in the Connecticut federal district court has certified an antitrust class action against DSM Copolymer Inc. and DSM Elastomers Europe B.V. for alleged participation in a cartel to fix prices for EPDM rubber.
Filed by a group of manufacturers acting as representatives for all EPDM users, the multidistrict litigation alleges DSM and a number of accomplices conspired to keep EPDM prices at unnaturally high levels between Jan. 1, 1997 and Dec. 31, 2001.
The lawsuit seeks reimbursement to the class members of the difference between the normal and artificially inflated prices of the EPDM they purchased. All defendants except DSM have settled with the plaintiffs. DSM officials declined comment on the suit.
DSM has filed both for summary judgment of the case and for an appeal of the class certification. Both rulings will come down at the discretion of the courts, said Michael Hausfeld, a Washington-based attorney and one of four co-lead counsels for the class action.