Liquid Aluminum Sulfate Antitrust Litigation

Berger Montague represented the City and County of Denver, served on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, and obtained settlements totaling $90.5 million in this antitrust litigation on behalf of direct purchasers of liquid aluminum sulfate. The case was litigated in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

On October 27, 2015, Frank A. Reichl, a former executive of General Chemical, pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to eliminate competition in the market for liquid aluminum sulfate by fixing prices, rigging bids, and allocating customers for liquid aluminum sulfate between 1997 and July 2010. On June 16, 2016, GEO Specialty Chemicals Inc. pleaded guilty for its role in the conspiracy and agreed to pay a $5 million criminal fine. On January 3, 2018, another former executive of General Chemical, Brian Steppig, pleaded guilty.

The Berger Montague team was led by Ruthanne Gordon and Candice J. Enders. Following extensive litigation, the court granted approval of settlements totaling $10.1 million with defendants GEO Specialty Chemicals, Inc, Kenneth Ghazey, and Brian Steppig; $3.8 million with defendant Kemira Chemicals, Inc.; $51 million with defendants Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund, General Chemical Corporation, General Chemical LLC, General Chemical Performance Products, LLC, Chemtrade Chemicals Corporation, Chemtrade Chemicals US LLC, and Chemtrade Solutions, along with former Chemtrade employees Alex Avraamides, Frank Reichl, Amita Gupta, and Vincent Opalewski; $13 million with American Securities LLC; $6.1 million with defendant USALCO, LLC; and $6.5 million with defendant Southern Ionics Incorporated.

If you or your company has been harmed by anticompetitive conduct or any conduct that you believe violates the antitrust laws, please contact Berger Montague.

About Berger Montague

Berger Montague is a national law firm focusing on complex civil litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. For over half a century, Berger Montague has played lead roles in consequential, precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.