"Cristal, Kronos To Exit Paint Pigment Cartel Suit for $85M"

Law360 and other media are reporting on the $85 million settlement reached by the two remaining defendants in a multi-million dollar class-action antitrust lawsuit filed in 2010 against DuPont Co. and three other large chemical companies. Shapiro Sher's Paul Mark Sandler serves as plaintiffs' liaison counsel and lead trial counsel. Plaintiffs had charged the four chemical producers of conspiring to fix the price of titanium dioxide, an ingredient used in paint production.

The suit was originally brought by PA-based Haley Paint Company and was filed in US District Court in Maryland. Two additional plaintiffs joined Haley, charging the four producers of fixing titanium dioxide prices starting in February 2003, following a meeting in Europe where titanium dioxide pricing was discussed.

Last month, defendant DuPont agreed to a $75 million settlement and a second defendant, Huntsman International, agreed to settle for $6.5 million.

Litigation is expected to be brought to a close with this week's announcement that Kronos Worldwide Inc. and Cristal USA Inc., formerly Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, agreed to settle with plaintiffs for $85 million. The settlement still requires approval by the court.