Cartel lawsuit against Germany hydrogen peroxide producers halted

09 February 2010 16:34  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--A legal group has withdrawn a private lawsuit brought in Germany against Kemira, Evonik and four other producers over alleged price fixing for hydrogen peroxide, it said on Tuesday, without disclosing further details.

The case was brought last year by Brussels-based CDC Cartel Damage Claims, which at the time said it had bought or had been assigned damage claims worth well over €430m ($590m) from pulp and paper firms related to a European hydrogen peroxide cartel from 1994 through 2000.

CDC was founded in 2002 to enforce private damage claims based on the infringement of national or international antitrust laws, according to its website.

A spokeswoman told ICIS news that CDC would prepare a response to media inquiries, but she would not immediately provide additional comment on why the case was withdrawn.

Germany’s dpa news agency, citing a spokesman for a court in Dortmund, North-Rhine Westphalia state, reported earlier that the suit had been withdrawn without the plaintiff providing reasons for the move.

The European Commission in 2006 fined Kemira, Arkema, AkzoNobel, Solvay and FMC Forest for involvement in the cartel. Evonik, previously Degussa, received immunity for providing details about the cartel.

($1 = €0.73)

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By: Stefan Baumgarten
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