Aussie Vitamin Suit Settled for $23M

MELBOURNE, Australia--A class action lawsuit brought against three international vitamin suppliers for price fixing has been settled for $30.5 million AUD ($23 million USD). Roche Holding AG, BASF AG and Sanofi-Aventis SA were accused of fixing prices for a range of vitamin products used for animal nutrition or health over 10 years in the 1990s. The plaintiffs alleged that farmers and businesses lost market share or paid inflated prices, and filed the country's first ever cartel class action suit after the worldwide conspiracy to raise and fix prices of vitamins was uncovered--which resulted in record penalties.

According to Kim Parker, with the law firm Maurice Blackburn Cashman representing the applicants, the settlement was a satisfactory ending to seven years of legal battle. "The outcome should send a big signal to powerful companies that anti-competitive behavior will not be tolerated by their victims or the Australian courts," she said. Parties in the case appeared in federal court today to seek approval of the settlement.