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Article: Must abide by U.S. antitrust laws: De Beers settles some suits, still has others.(DIAMONDS)
- Article from:
- Jewelers Circular Keystone
- Article date:
- February 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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De Beers recently agreed to pay $250 million to settle a group of consumer-driven class-action antitrust lawsuits.
In the suits, a group of consumers alleged that De Beers owed them money for keeping diamond prices high in violation of American antitrust laws. That means that, in theory, this settlement is owed to every consumer who purchased a diamond from Jan. 1, 1994, to the date of the settlement. It remains to be seen how that money will be distributed.
The settlement does not involve any admission of liability on De Beers' part. It is subject to court approval.
The settlement agreement, obtained by JCK, also puts a number of unprecedented ...