MOFCOM Files Brief In U.S. Vitamin C Case Urging Application Of Foreign Sovereign Compulsion Defense

On April 14, 2014, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of the People's Republic of China filed an amicus brief in In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-4791-cv (2d Cir.), arguing that the district court erred in refusing to apply the foreign sovereign compulsion defense to protect Chinese companies sued in the litigation.

In the Vitamin C class action, plaintiffs alleged that several Chinese companies fixed the price of Vitamin C that was exported to the United States. The case was tried in early 2013, and all but two of the defendants settled before the jury rendered its verdict. The jury entered a verdict for plaintiffs in the amount of $54.1 million, which was trebled to $162.3 million before credits for settlements with other defendants. The trial defendants appealed on various grounds.