Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Resolved
Docket Number
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
1. Whether, in certifying a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), courts may presume class-wide injury from an alleged price-fixing agreement, even when prices are individually negotiated and individual purchasers frequently succeed in negotiating away allegedly collusive overcharges.
2. Whether a class may be certified or a class-wide damages judgment affirmed where plaintiffs’ common “proof” of damages is a model that (a) does not purport to determine the actual damages of most class members, but instead applies an “average” overcharge estimated from a sample of transactions of very different purchasers, or (b) assumes that defendants engaged in multiple antitrust violations, even though plaintiffs attempted to prove only one violation at trial.
Case Updates
Dow agrees to settlement in antitrust class action
February 25, 2016
The motion was withdrawn by both parties. The Supreme Court granted petitioner and respondents’ joint motion to hold the cert. petition in abeyance.
U.S. Chamber urges U.S. Supreme Court to review antitrust class action
April 09, 2015
The U.S. Chamber, with a coalition of four other trade associations, filed a brief supporting a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the Dow Chemical Company. The coalition amicus brief argues that the Tenth Circuit’s approval of a certified class of purchasers of polyurethane products violated Dow’s due process right to present every available defense. Because purchase prices for these products are individually negotiated, the coalition explained it is impossible to show on a class-wide basis that any price increase was attributable to a price-fixing conspiracy.
The Chamber filed this brief jointly with the National Association of Manufacturers, American Tort Reform Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and Business Roundtable.
Steffen N. Johnson, Robert F. Ryak, and Tyler G. Johannes of Winston & Strawn LLP served as co-counsel to the amici with the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.
Cert. petition filed 3/9/2015. U.S. Chamber amicus brief filed on 4/9/2015. Motion withdrawn by both parties on 6/15/2015.
Settlement notice filed 2/25/2016. Joint motion to hold petition in abeyance granted 3/7/2016.
Case Documents
- Cert. Petition -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- U.S. Chamber et al. Amicus Brief -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Washington Legal Foundation Amicus Brief -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- PLAC Amicus Brief -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Atlantic Legal Foundation Amicus Brief -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- DRI Amicus Brief -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Professor Murphy et al. Amicus Brief -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Brief in Opposition -- Dow Chemical v. Industrial Polymers et al. (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf