Vitamin price-fixing settlement
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Jan. 15 hearing scheduled in D.C. federal court on fairness of proposed $50 mil. settlement by Merck KgaA and its affiliates of class action claims brought by direct purchasers of vitamins A, B, C, E, beta carotene, premixes. Judge Thomas Hogan preliminarily approved the settlement in September; opt-out deadline for companies who wish to exclude themselves is Dec. 9. Unlike earlier settlement involving seven defendants including Hoffman-LaRoche and BASF, Merck settlement amount is fixed and will not be reduced by the number of class members opting out. Remaining defendants in the class action, which is scheduled for trial March 12, include Sumitomo Chemical America, Tanabe USA, Lonza, Degussa-Huls, Reilly Industries, Nepera (1"The Tan Sheet" March 4, 2002, p. 11)...