November 5, 2024
A California federal jury hit Commercial Metals Co. with a $110 million antitrust verdict on Tuesday, finding the Texas rebar giant liable for multiple antitrust violations and awarding Pacific Steel Group millions of dollars in lost profits and other damages.
A unanimous nine-member jury handed down the verdict in favor of San Diego-based steel fabricator PSG after less than 3 hours of jury deliberations in the high-stakes jury trial that began Oct. 22 in Oakland, California, according to court documents.
During trial, PSG accused Texas-based CMC of suppressing competition by pushing micromill-maker Danieli Corp. into a three-year exclusivity contract barring Danieli from developing most rival mills within 500 miles around CMC’s since-shuttered Rancho Cucamonga, California mill.
Jurors found Tuesday that PSG has proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that there is a relevant steel rebar market 500 miles around the mill, and that CMC’s exclusivity contract with Danieli was an unreasonable restraint of trade in that market, according to the verdict form.
Jurors also concluded that CMC attempted to monopolize the market and that its conduct harmed PSG, which acquired land north of Los Angeles to build a new cutting edge rival “micromill” with Danieli, the verdict form says.
In light of CMC’s misconduct, jurors awarded PSG $74 million in lost profits from its mill operations; $12.9 million in lost rebar transportation savings; $10.8 million in lost fabrication cost savings and $12.28 million in increased costs to purchase the mill due to inflation, according to the verdict form.
That brings PSG’s total potential damages award to $110 million, which is the full amount PSG’s counsel had sought during trial closings.
. . .
Pacific Steel Group is represented by William C. Price of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Benjamin D. Brown, Daniel McCuaig, Nathaniel D. Regenold and Daniel A. Small of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.
Read Texas Rebar Giant CMC Hit With $110M Antitrust Verdict.