December 3, 2009
Do vitamins cost too much? Attorneys general from 23 states think they do, and have filed suit in what they call a "price-fixing conspiracy." The states this week filed a motion for preliminary approval of the $25.03 million settlement.
Illinois Attorney General Madigan and the other attorneys general filed the motion on behalf of consumers and businesses in their states that purchased vitamins or any food item that had vitamins added to it such as ready-to-eat cereals, energy drinks and milk between 1988 and 2000.
"This conspiracy affected Illinois consumers by unfairly inflating prices for something as important as vitamins," Madigan said. "The motion we have filed brings us closer to holding these companies accountable for the significant injury they caused."
Once the court approves the settlement, businesses in the settling states that indirectly purchased the vitamins between 1988 and 2000 may make a claim to obtain money from the portion of the settlement allocated to businesses. Given the extraordinary number of affected consumers, each Attorney General also will distribute settlement funds allocated to consumers in their state to government or not-for-profit organizations as approved by the Court.
In addition to Illinois, the states, districts, and commonwealths participating in this settlement are: Arizona, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The companies that sold these vitamins and subject to the $25.03 million settlement are: Akzo Nobel Inc.; Bioproducts Incorporated, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.; Chinook Global Limited and Chinook Group, Inc.; Evonik Degussa GmbH, successor to Degussa AG, and Evonik Degussa Corporation; Lonza AG; Merck KGaA, E. Merck and EM Industries, Inc.; Nepera, Inc.; Sumitomo Chemical America, Inc. and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.; Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and Tanabe U.S.A., Inc.; UCB Pharma, Inc.; and, Vertellus Specialties Inc. and Vertellus Chemicals SA.
The vitamins affected by this alleged price fixing conspiracy are: vitamin A, astaxanthin, vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B4 (choline chloride), vitamin B5 (calpan), vitamin B6, vitamin B9 (folic acid), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine pharma), beta-carotene, vitamin C, canthaxanthin, vitamin E, and vitamin H (biotin), as well as all blends and forms of these vitamins. Also included is Premix, a product that contains one or more these vitamins in combination with other substances.
