All Posts from June 28, 2012

Potash antitrust case to go to trial

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has sent a potash antitrust case against major global producers, Minn-Chem Inc. v. Agrium Inc., back for trial before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. In an 8-0 decision issued June 27, the court reversed its own two-judge panel, which had earlier decided that the complaint failed to meet the requirements of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982. The court said the district court correctly ruled that the complaint does state a claim under federal antitrust laws. While ruling that the case could proceed, the lower court had allowed the appeal. The defendants—Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., The Mosaic Co., Agrium Inc., Uralkali, Belaruskali, Silvinit and IPC, are accused of price-fixing. The plaintiffs, U.S. potash buyers, alleged that the defendants, which produce 71 percent of the world’s potash, initiated a cartel which beginning in mid-2003 drove prices up some 600 percent by 2008.

Company responds to potash antitrust alert

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. quickly responded to news that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has sent a potash antitrust case against major global producers, Minn-Chem Inc. v. Agrium Inc., back to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. The company said the matter may not necessarily go to trial, as an earlier Green Markets headline indicated; that it would first go to discovery. Ultimately, if it can get through the discovery phase, and any motions in the meantime, it will go to trial.

“The company has a policy of strict compliance with antitrust and competition laws wherever it does business,” a company spokesman told Green Markets. “PotashCorp intends to vigorously defend itself against these claims which it considers to be without foundation.”

Indeed, the Court of Appeals said it was not making a final decision, that discovery will have to take place as well as a lower court decision. However, in the court’s 8-0 decision, it said that the evidence before it was sufficient to send it back to the lower court. “The inference from these allegations is not just plausible but compelling that the cartel meant to, and did in fact, keep prices artificially high in the United States,” said the court.

Agrium Inc. said it was still awaiting word from its attorneys. Other defendants have yet to respond.

The defendants—Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., The Mosaic Co., Agrium Inc., Uralkali, Belaruskali, Silvinit and IPC, are accused of price-fixing. The plaintiffs, U.S. potash buyers, alleged that the defendants, which produce 71 percent of the world’s potash, initiated a cartel which beginning in mid-2003 drove prices up some 600 percent by 2008.

Debby shuts down fertilizer production

Slow moving Tropical Storm Debby dumped roughly 20 inches of rain in the White Springs area, where PotashCorp has a mine and processing plants in North Florida, before meandering east and out into the Atlantic last week. Although winds remained well below hurricane level of 74 mph, it brought extremely heavy rain into most of North and Central Florida. PotashCorp’s White Springs processing plant suffered flood damage and lost power during the prolonged storm, however the damage was not significant. The facility will be out of operation for about two weeks, according to a company spokesman.