AKRON (May 10, 2004) — Goodyear has filed an antitrust lawsuit against several chemical companies, charging them with price fixing and anti-competitive conduct.
Goodyear filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The Akron-based tire maker said its allegations focus primarily on EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), a synthetic rubber used in rubber-containing products to improve their strength. Goodyear uses the material in its tires, hoses and belts.
With the lawsuit, Goodyear is suing:
* Bayer A.G. of Germany
* Bayer Polymers L.L.C. of Pittsburgh
* Bayer Corp. of Pittsburgh
* Crompton Corp. of Middlebury, Conn.
* Uniroyal Chemical Co. Inc. of Middlebury
* Dow Chemical Co. of Midland, Mich.
* E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Del.
* DuPont Dow Elastomers L.L.C. of Wilmington
* DSM Elastomers B.V. of The Netherlands
* DSM CoPolymer Inc. of Baton Rouge, La.
* Polimeri Europa S.p.A. of Milan
* Polimeri Europa Americas Inc. of Houston
The tire maker has not yet specified a damage amount, which it expects to be determined during the course of the court proceedings.
“Goodyear, in the best interests of our shareholders, is seeking to recover the overcharges paid as a result of the anti-competitive conduct of these companies,” said C. Thomas Harvie, Goodyear's senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. “Goodyear is a significant global purchaser of EPDM, and Goodyear spends substantial amounts on these products.”