WASHINGTON, DC - A U.S. District Court jury in Kansas City, KS, has awarded plaintiffs in a urethane price-fixing class action against The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI, $400,049,039, according to Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs, direct purchasers of chemicals used to manufacture polyurethanes, complained that they were overcharged by Dow and four other chemical companies as a result of a nationwide price-fixing conspiracy that occurred from 1999 through 2003.

Three other chemical companies - Bayer, BASF, Huntsman International LLC - previously agreed to settle claims against them for approximately $139 million. A fourth company, Lyondell Chemical Co., was under bankruptcy protection and settled without paying damages.