$22M Foam Antitrust Class Action Settlement Reached

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On July 27, three foam manufacturers agreed to a pay a combined $22 million in a foam antitrust class action settlement. This sum and agreement will settle claims filed by indirect purchasers against these foam companies in a multidistrict litigation, alleging these foam makers schemed to fix foam prices.

The motion for preliminary approval of this proposed foam antitrust class action settlement was filed by the plaintiffs in Ohio federal court, stating that FFP Holdings LLC, FXI Holding Inc., and Future Foam Inc. have agreed to pay a collective $22 million to establish a settlement fund. FFP will pay $2.27 million of the total settlement, while FXI will provide $9 million and an additional $500,000 to pay the Class Notice, and Future Foam will pay $10.5 million in this foam antitrust class action settlement.

The three foam makers named above deny all wrongdoing, but have agreed to settle this foam antitrust class action lawsuit in order to avoid the cost and uncertainty of pursuing this multidistrict litigation.

Similarly to how the plaintiffs asked the court to approve an earlier round of foam antitrust settlements, the indirect buyers have requested that the proposed antitrust class action settlement be approved on the grounds of “substantial” recovery for the Class of indirect purchasers. According to the plaintiffs, this strengthens their bargaining position with any remaining foam manufacturing defendants.

According to the foam antitrust class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs of the multidistrict litigation (which includes both direct and indirect foam purchasers) claim that since 1999, the foam manufacturers have collaborated to fix the price of polyurethane foam, a material commonly used in cushioning and insulation in various products, including cars, flooring, bedding, and packaging.

The direct purchasers like the foam, packaging, and carpet companies involved in this foam antitrust class action lawsuit were set to go to trial against six foam makers in April of this year, but just before the trial, the defending foam companies agreed to a $275 million settlement. When added up with previous settlements, the direct purchasers received a total $433.1 million

As for the indirect purchasers, they came to settlement agreements with Carpenter Co., Leggett & Platt Inc., Hickory Spring Manufacturing Co., Mohawk Industries Inc., Vitafoam Inc., and Woodbridge Foam Corp. in June of this year. The companies agreed to pay a total of $128.5 million to settle the foam antitrust allegations.

Of this total, Carpenter has agreed to pay $63.5 million, leaving Leggett & Platt to pay $26 million and Mohawk responsible for $16 million of the proposed foam antitrust class action settlement. The remaining companies consisting of Hickory Springs, Woodbridge and Vitafoam will pay $10.25 million, $9.5 million and $2.75 million respectively in order to resolve the antitrust claims against them.

The indirect purchasers are represented by lead counsel Miller Law LLC and others.

The Foam Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:10-md-02196, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

UPDATE: If you purchased a product that contains flexible polyurethane foam, such a couch, mattress or carpet padding, you may be entitled to a cash payment from a class action settlement. Find out more here or visit www.PolyFoamClassAction.com for details.

UPDATE 2: On Nov. 20 2017, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the polyfoam indirect purchaser class action settlement worth as much as $234. Congratulations to everyone who filed a valid claim and got PAID!