KANSAS CITY, Kan.—The fine levied against the Dow Chemical Co. for its role in a polypols price fixing ring has been reduced by $139 million, to a little more than $1 billion.
Judge John Lungstrum, took into account for payments made by other companies to avoid going to trail in the decision. The new fine is $1,060,847,117.
Dow has been contesting the level of the fine imposed by a Kansas jury in February. The court said that apart from people and companies that have excluded themselves, "the settlement applies to all the people and companies that purchased polyether polyol products from a defendant at any time from 1999 through Dec. 31, 2003 in the U.S. and its territories (excluding any government entity, defendants, their employees and their respective parents; subsidiaries and affiliates).
Polyether polyols products include propylene-oxide derived polyether polyols; monomeric or polymeric diphenlmethane diisocyanates; toluene diisocyanates; MDI-TDI blends; or propylene oxide polyether polyolsystems, except those that contain polyester polyols.
The judge ordered that a plan of allocation, decided on July 26, would be activated unless Dow appealed. The plan will give claimants a slice of the fine depending on how much the court-appointed claims administrator decides they were overcharged.