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A company previously headed by soon-to-be presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. has agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit for $33 million for alleged price fixing.
Huntsman served from 1993 through 2001 as vice chairman of the board of Huntsman Corp., the parent company of Huntsman International, LLC, which has agreed to fork over three annual payments of $11 million to settle the case.
The antitrust suit filed against Huntsman International and other defendants in 2004 alleges the companies sought to fix urethane prices from 1999 through 2004. A federal judge in Kansas handling the case has yet to approve the settlement agreement.
Tim Miller, Huntsman's campaign spokesman, said his boss had nothing to do with the settlement or the underlying case.
Gary Chapman, vice president for global communications of Huntsman Corp., also said Huntsman Jr. did not have any direct involvement with Huntsman International.
The company in the court filing does not admit to any wrongdoing by agreeing to the settlement.
Chapman said the company decided to settle to avoid the burdens and uncertainties inherent in complex business litigation.
"And this settlement allows the management to focus their full attention on running the business," he said.
News of the settlement was handed to The Associated Press by a Democratic political group called the American Bridge 21st Century, the AP said, and came the day after Huntsman said he would officially jump into the presidential race.
The Hill newspaper reported this week that President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has only three names listed on the wall in its Chicago headquarters, leaving the impression that the campaign only considers three Republicans in the race a threat. Those candidates are: Huntsman, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney.
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