Chemical Price-Fixing Deals Worth $38.5 Million Nixed by Judge

A federal judge has denied deals worth $38.5 million in a case accusing Formosa Plastics Corp., Westlake Chemical Corp. and other defendants of fixing the price of caustic soda, also known as sodium hydroxide or lye.

Judge Elizabeth Wolford of the US District Court for the Western District of New York in a Monday order denied
a motion by a proposed class of direct purchaser plaintiffs for preliminary approval of deals with Formosa, Westlake and Shintech Inc., saying they didn’t provide “common proof to demonstrate antitrust injury on a classwide basis.”

Formosa had agreed to pay $7.5 million to ...