Steel Mills

Anti-Trust Judgment Against Nucor and Reliance Steel Tripled to $156 Million

May 4, 2014

Damages in an anti-trust lawsuit against Nucor Corp, Reliance Steel & Aluminum, American Alloy Steel, JSW Steel and one individual defendant have been tripled to a final judgment of $156 million. US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt granted MM Steel LP’s motion to treble the $52 million jury verdict, rejecting motions by the defendants to delay the judgment until the terms of the settlement between MM Steel and SSAB Enterprises LLC, who was also named in the case, could be revealed. The defendants asked in their motion that the award to MM Steel be reduced by the amount of recovery received from SSAB.

Judge Hoyt held that the motions “do not present a basis for setting aside the jury verdict or for granting relief as a matter of law that have not been considered and rejected in previous motions.”

JSW filed an appeal Tuesday to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The case was based on MM Steel’s claim that a boycott had been organized by the defendants against MM Steel. The defendants are jointly and severally liable for the award.

Robert J. Katerberg, a partner with Arnold & Porter and lead attorney for Nucor said, “We are disappointed with the verdict. Nucor denies violating any antitrust laws. We believe Nucor acted entirely within its legal rights. We will fight these allegations through the appeal process and we expect that Nucor will be vindicated.”