Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says the state has reached a settlement with two rock salt producers who conspired to drive up prices. The settlement dismisses a lawsuit filed in 2012 against Cargill and Morton Salt. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.
Under the agreement, the Morton and Cargill companies will pay a combined $11.5 million, most of which will be distributed to local governments that Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says spent too much on road salt for about a decade.
“I believe that this settlement is a very positive result for the people of the state of Ohio. The millions that will be distributed to the state and to local governments would never have been returned to them if we had not filed this lawsuit and aggressively pursued this case,” DeWine says.
DeWine says Morton and Cargill divided up the rock salt market between themselves, agreeing not to compete with each other…and he says that drove up prices.
