Company wins rare acquittal against price-fixing charge

by Sheri Qualters | Staff reporter
July 25, 2007

HARTFORD, CONN. — ­ A federal jury in Hartford acquitted coated paper maker Stora Enso North America Corp. of charges in a rare price-fixing trial.

In December 2006, U.S. Department of Justice indicted Stora Enso for conspiring with one of more competitors to fix coated magazine paper prices in the U.S. from August 2002 through June 2003. The company faced a potential fine of up to $10 million if it had been found guilty. USA v. Stora Enso North America Corp., No. 06-323 (D. Conn.)

Stora Enso's lead trial counsel David Rosenbloom, the national head of McDermott Will & Emery's white collar practice, said his client felt very strongly that it had done nothing wrong and wanted to trust its fate to the justice system. Most companies try to cut a deal with the justice department if they can't persuade the agency not to bring the case, Rosenbloom said.

"Corporations charged with criminal price fixing rarely go to trial - much less win," noted David Rosenbloom. "Juries tend to relate more to individuals rather than corporations, so winning an acquittal for a corporation is a rare success.''

Stora's North American division in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., is a subsidiary of Finland-based paper, packaging and forest products manufacturer Stora Enso Oyj.

Stora Enso also had to overcome possible negative perceptions of the justice department's amnesty to Stora Enso's alleged co-conspirator, Finish forest and paper products company, UPM-Kymmene Corp., Rosenbloom said.

"There is a misperception that the existence of an amnesty agreement means that there has in fact been price fixing," Rosenbloom said. "That is wrong, and we proved it to this jury."

The justice department is disappointed with the July 19 acquittal, but it respects the jury's verdict, said Gina Talamona, a deputy director of the department's office of public affairs.