A federal jury in Kansas City, Kan., on February 20 returned a $400 million verdict against The Dow Chemical Co. in a urethane price-fixing class action. The award could be trebled to $1.2 billion under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Plaintiffs attorneys filed the case in 2004 on behalf of a class of direct purchasers of chemicals used to make polyurethane, a form of plastic. They accused four companies besides Dow, all of which settled for considerably smaller amounts before trial.