The Court has certified a class in a lawsuit, of which you could be a member. In so doing, the Court has not ruled on the underlying merits of any of the claims or defenses made by either side in this case. Additionally, Plaintiffs in this class action reached two separate settlements. The first is with Defendant Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (“Leggett & Platt”), and the second is with Defendants Carpenter Co., E. R. Carpenter, L.P., and Carpenter Holdings, Inc. (collectively, “Carpenter”). The Settlements are not evidence of whether or not the Certification Class will ultimately be successful on its claims, or whether or not the Defendants have participated in the conspiracy alleged by Plaintiffs. This Notice informs you of your rights in the lawsuit and proposed settlements.
What is this lawsuit about?
The lawsuit is known as In re Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 10-md-2196, and is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo. Direct purchasers of Flexible Polyurethane Foam allege that Defendants conspired to fix, raise, stabilize, or maintain the prices and allocate territories or customers of Flexible Polyurethane Foam, in violation of antitrust laws. As used herein, Flexible Polyurethane Foam includes both “slabstock” flexible polyurethane foam (also known as “block” foam), fabricated or converted foam products made from “slabstock” flexible polyurethane foam and carpet underlay (also known as “carpet cushion,” “carpet pad” or “carpet padding”) manufactured from polyurethane foam, but does not include “molded” foam (also known as “engineered” foam) or “rigid” foam (also known as “technical” foam).
Important
Court Documents containing more detailed allegations and additional descriptions of the uses and applications of Flexible Polyurethane Foam can be found at the Settlement Website:
www.flexiblepolyurethanefoamsettlement.com.
Who are the Defendants?
The companies Plaintiffs sued are called Defendants. The settling Defendants are Leggett & Platt, Carpenter, Vitafoam, Inc. and Vitafoam Products Canada Limited, Domfoam International Inc. and Valle Foam Industries (1995) Inc. The non- settling Defendants are FFP Holdings LLC (formerly known as Flexible Foam Products, Inc.); FXI – Foamex Innovations, Inc.; Future Foam, Inc.; Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company; Mohawk Industries Inc.; Woodbridge Foam Corporation; Woodbridge Sales & Engineering, Inc.; Woodbridge Foam Fabricating, Inc.; Louis Carson; and David Carson.
If you purchased Flexible Polyurethane Foam directly from any Flexible Polyurethane Foam manufacturer from January 1, 1999 through July 31, 2010, you could be a Class Member in a class action lawsuit and in two proposed class action settlements. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS ARE AFFECTED. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. The Court has stayed in favor of arbitration all claims
from customers that directly purchased Flexible Polyurethane Foam (including carpet cushion or carpet underlay) directly from Mohawk Industries, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries (collectively “Mohawk”) and had an arbitration agreement with Mohawk for those purchases.
(See Court Order dated
August 12, 2014, Docket No. 1311). As of now, if you have a contractual agreement to arbitrate disputes with Mohawk, you will need to arbitrate your direct claims against Mohawk. You may still litigate as part of the Certification Class, however, for damages, if any, that Mohawk caused you, except that you would only be able to collect those damages from the other non-settling Defendants if the Certification Class proves your claim at trial that Mohawk and the other non-settling Defendants conspired.
Who is a Class Member?
You are a Class Member of the Certification Class, the Leggett & Platt Direct Purchaser Settlement Class, and Carpenter Direct Purchaser Settlement Class if you are among:
All persons or entities that purchased flexible polyurethane foam (but excluding molded foam) directly from Defendants and/or their co-conspirators from January 1, 1999 to July 31, 2010 for purchase from or delivery into the United States. Excluded from the Class are governmental entities, Defendants, their co-conspirators, and their officers, employees, agents, representatives, parents, subsidiaries and affiliates.
What does the Leggett & Platt Settlement provide? The Leggett & Platt Settlement is between Plaintiffs and
Leggett & Platt only. Plaintiffs and Leggett & Platt Settlement Class Members will release Leggett & Platt from all pending claims and in exchange, Leggett & Platt has agreed: (i) to pay $39,800,000 to a fund to compensate Leggett & Platt Settlement Class Members; and (ii) to provide limited cooperation to Plaintiffs.
What does the Carpenter Settlement provide?
The Carpenter Settlement is between Plaintiffs and Carpenter only. Plaintiffs and Carpenter Settlement Class Members will release Carpenter from all pending claims and in exchange, Carpenter has agreed: (i) to pay $108,000,000 to a fund to compensate Carpenter Settlement Class Members; and (ii) to provide limited cooperation to Plaintiffs.
...continued on next page
www.flexiblepolyurethanefoamsettlement.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148