Class action attorneys at Cohen & Malad, LLP are investigating antitrust claims by municipalities and businesses that purchased the water treatment chemical liquid aluminum sulfate for industrial use. Liquid aluminum sulfate is used by municipalities to treat drinking and waste water. Pulp and paper companies also use liquid aluminum sulfate in the manufacturing process.
On October 27, 2015, the United States Department of Justice announced that Frank Reichl, a former executive with General Chemical Corporation in New Jersey, had pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with other suppliers to fix the price of liquid aluminum sulfate between at least 1997 and 2010 in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. According to the Department of Justice, the conspiracy included agreements to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers.
This conspiracy forced water utility providers and wood pulp and paper manufacturers to pay illegally inflated prices for liquid aluminum sulfate. Cohen & Malad, LLP is investigating possible class action claims against General Chemical Corporation and other conspirators to recover these illegal overcharges. The Sherman Act provides for damages in a civil price fixing case of three times the damages cause by an antitrust conspiracy.
Cohen & Malad, LLP is interested in speaking with municipalities and businesses that purchase liquid aluminum sulfate in their production facilities. Contact us for more information about this investigation.