If you purchased polyether polyols, MDI, and/or TDI, you could get a payment from a class action settlement.

What's This About?

The settlement arises from a class action lawsuit that the class plaintiffs, Seegott Holdings, Inc. and Industrial Polymers, Inc., have filed against Defendants Bayer AG, Bayer Corporation, Bayer MaterialScience AG, Bayer MaterialScience LLC (collectively, "Bayer"), BASF AG, BASF Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Huntsman International LLC, and Lyondell Chemical Company. Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants

IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES
Request an Exclusion: Deadline Has Passed
Object to the Settlement: Deadline Has Passed
File an Objection to the Plan of Allocation or Fee Petition: Filed with the Court, postmarked no later than June 12, 2009, with copies served upon counsel for the class plaintiffs.
Fairness Hearing: July 20, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.
US District Court,
Kansas City, Kansas
unlawfully agreed to fix, raise, maintain, or stabilize the prices of and/or allocate the markets for polyether polyols, MDI and TDI, whether sold separately or combined in a system ("Products"), in violation of federal antitrust law. Plaintiffs have reached a negotiated settlement of the claims against Bayer. Bayer has denied engaging in any wrongful conduct.

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement (accessible on the right side of this page), Bayer paid $55.3 million into a settlement fund for the benefit of the settlement class. Including accrued interest, the settlement fund balance is now approximately $58.9 million. Bayer also agreed to cooperate with Plaintiffs in the ongoing litigation against the remaining Defendants.

On August 30, 2006, the Honorable John W. Lungstrum of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas determined that the Bayer settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. You may view or download the Court's final approval order on the right side of this page. That decision is final and not subject to challenge. Plaintiffs continue to pursue their claims against the remaining Defendants.

The class plaintiffs have asked the Court to approve a Plan of Allocation. A copy of the Motion for Approval of Plan of Allocation is available on the right side of this page. Under the proposed Plan of Allocation, the net settlement proceeds (after payment of such fees and expenses, including costs of administering the distribution, as are ordered by the Court) will be distributed to Settlement Class members on a pro rata basis in proportion to the dollar amount of their eligible Product purchases during the Class Period. In addition, counsel for class plaintiffs have filed a Fee Petition asking the Court for payment of attorneys' fees not to exceed one-third of the Bayer settlement fund and for reimbursement of expenses incurred through December 31, 2008 in their prosecution of this litigation in an amount not to exceed $2.2 million. You may view or download a copy of the Fee Petition on the right side of this page.

Who is Part of the Settlement Class?

The Court has certified a settlement class that includes all persons and entities who purchased polyether polyols, monomeric or polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate("MDI"), and/or toluene diisocyanate ("TDI"), whether sold separately or in a combined form with or without other chemicals added thereto (e.g., systems), directly from any Defendant at any time from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2004, in or for delivery in the United States and its territories (excluding all governmental entities, any defendants, their employees, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates). A list of the Products included in the settlement is available on the right side of this page.

What are Your Options?

If you are included in the settlement class, you may:

  • Do Nothing. You do not need to do anything at this time to receive money from the settlement fund. If the proposed Plan of Allocation is approved by the Court, you will receive a claim form to request a payment.
  • Object to the Motion for Approval of Plan of Allocation and/or the Fee Petition. Any objections must be in writing and filed with the Clerk, United States District Court for the District of Kansas, 500 State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101, postmarked no later than June 12, 2009, with copies served upon counsel for the class plaintiffs.

Any member of the settlement class may hire its own attorney at its own expense and enter an individual appearance in the case.

For information concerning the Settlement, including instructions on how to object to the Motion for Approval of Plan of Allocation and/or the Fee Petition, view the documents on the right side of this page or contact Class Counsel or the Settlement Administrator, listed below. Please do not contact the Court, the Clerk's Office, or Bayer.

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Richard A. Koffman, Esq.
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
West Tower, Suite 500
1100 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005-3964
(202) 408-4600
rkoffman@cohenmilstein.com
Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.
Gerard A. Dever, Esq.
Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.
1835 Market Street
Suite 2800
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 567-6565
gdever@finekaplan.com
Settlement Administrator

Urethane Antitrust Litigation
Polyether Polyol Cases
c/o Complete Claim Solutions, Inc.
P.O. Box 24628
West Palm Beach, FL 33416
UrethaneInfo@CompleteClaimSolutions.com

If you would like to speak with the Administrator's Office, please call toll-free:
877-741-1226

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INFORMATION
Final Order Approving Bayer Settlement
(PDF; 14 Pages; 180KB)
FAQs
(PDF; 3 Pages; 32K)
Order Preliminarily Approving Settlement
(PDF; 21 Pages; 1MB)
Settlement Agreement
(PDF; 20 Page; 800K)
Order Authorizing Notice to the Class and Establishing Procedures for Consideration of Class Plaintiffs' Proposed Plan of Allocation and Class Counsel's Petition for Fees and Costs
(PDF; 9 Pages; 300K)
Notice of Proposed Plan of Allocation and Petition for Attorneys' Fees and Costs with Respect to the Bayer Settlement
(PDF; 4 Pages; 115K)
List of Defendants' Products
(PDF; 46 Pages; 20K)
Motion for Approval of Plan of Allocation
(PDF; 81 Pages; 3MB)
Fee Petition
(PDF; 127 Pages; 5MB)

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