$151 Million Settlement in Foam Multidistrict Litigation After Six-Year Battle

After six years of litigation, parties in the polyurethane foam multidistrict litigation have agreed on a $151 million settlement. Plaintiffs in the suit claimed that the defendant manufacturers, Carpenter Co., Leggett & Platt Inc., Mohawk Industries Inc., Woodbridge Foam Corp., Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co., Future Foam Inc., FFP Holdings LLC, FXI Holdings Inc., Vitafoam Inc. and Vitafoam Products Canada Ltd., conspired to illegally fix the price of polyurethane foam from 1999 to 2012. Plaintiffs in the litigation were separated into two classes; the first class consisted of large, indirect purchasers, such as hospitals, hotels and individual consumers, and the second class was made up of direct consumers, including mattress and furniture companies.

Defendant manufacturers claimed that price increases for polyurethane were due to increases in the price of raw materials over the years. Additionally, Defendants argued that the diverse class members in the MDL didn’t have common questions of fact. Despite these arguments from the defense, the parties settled just weeks before trial. Out of the $151 million settlement, $36.3 million was allocated for attorneys’ fees.

The case is: In re Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:10-md-02196-JZ

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