The question over whether a vacancy should be filled this year on the U.S. Supreme Court is becoming an issue in two of the hottest races in Wisconsin, the battle for the U.S. Senate and for a spot on the state Supreme Court.
Advertisement
Dow, a conglomerate of industrial and agricultural chemical businesses, said the settlement would benefit shareholders.
“Said Cinderella Guevara, presiding judge of a county court, who had pronounced him dead, “…the death certificate will say that he died of natural causes with myocardial infarction, better known as a heart attack, being a contributing factor”.
In 2013, Midland, Michigan-based Dow was found liable by a federal jury in Kansas that it conspired to artificially inflate the price of polyurethane, a chemical used in everything from packaging to vehicle interiors.
Following Justice Scalia’s death earlier this month, the White House and Congress have been in a debate over whether President Barack Obama should appoint a new justice to the bench during a presidential election year. It was also known that it could be a serious change for how corporate cases are treated in the review process at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dow, which is in the process of merging with Dupont, said on Friday it chose to settle, without admitting any wrongdoing, because of “growing political uncertainties due to recent events within the Supreme Court”.
The case involved an allegation that Dow and other makers of a chemical known as urethane had conspired to fix prices between 1999 and 2004.
The company had challenged a $1 billion judgment in a high-stakes, class-action case. Dow agreed to settle by paying US$835 million. Dow continues to believe strongly in its legal position as expressed in its petition.
“Dow cooperated with an extensive investigation by the US Department of Justice, which closed its investigation in 2007 without taking any or proposing any action against Dow”.
Dow has argued that the Kansas City federal jury’s judgment against the company violates the Supreme Court’s class action law in multiple ways, particularly with respect to a ruling in 2011 favoring Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT.N and a 2013 ruling favoring Comcast Corp CMCSA. O .
Advertisement
Shares of Dow Chemical Co. rose 64 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $48.74.
