The Valspar Corporation, et al. v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co., et al.

On October 2, 2017, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court order granting summary judgment for DuPont in this antitrust case brought by Valspar, which involved allegations of price fixing in the sale of titanium dioxide (TiO2) by four defendants. Compass Lexecon Senior Consultants Professors Robert D. Willig and Daniel L. Rubinfeld served as experts on behalf of the four Defendants (DuPont, Huntsman, Kronos and Millennium). Professors Willig and Rubinfeld submitted expert reports addressing liability and damages, respectively. They examined and empirically analyzed the companies’ business conduct in detail, finding it more consistent with competition than with collusion. DuPont won its motion for summary judgment in January 2016, while the other three defendants settled with Valspar thereafter. Professor Willig was supported by a Compass Lexecon team including Mary Coleman, David Weiskopf, Nauman Ilias, Dan Cherette, Mihir Narain, Rob Oandasan, Prerana Nanda and Laura Schiemichen. Professor Rubinfeld was supported by a Compass Lexecon team including Aren Megerdichian, Matt Krietzberg and Trevor Incerti. Compass Lexecon worked closely with a number of attorneys on this matter, including Shari Ross Lahlou and Joshua Stokes of Crowell & Moring LLP; Anne P. Davis, Ryan Watts and James W. Cooper of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP; Paul E. Coggins and Kelly Vickers of Locke Lord LLP; and James A. Reeder, Jr., Erica L. Krennerich and Kathleen Bone Spangler of Vinson & Elkins LLP.