Jury Awards $70 Million

A Washington County jury returned a $70 million verdict for SunBelt Chlor Alkali Partnership on Aug 24, 2012, finding that OxyVinyls LP was in breach of contract for failing to purchase 250,000 tons of chlorine annually.

The two week civil trial in front of Judge Gaines McCorquodale ended with the jury awarding $20 Million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages after concluding that OxyVinyls, a subsidiary of Occidental Chemical Corporation and Occidental Petroleum Corporation improperly deducted amounts off its annual purchase obligation over three years in order to increase its profits at the expense of SunBelt, a subsidiary of Olin Corporation.

SunBelt was represented by Halron Turner of Turner Onderdonk, Kimbrough, Howell, Huggins and Bradley in Chatom and Lightfoot Franklin and White in Birmingham. OxyVinyls was represented by White, Arnold, and Dowd in Birmingham; Manly, Perry, Traeger and Stapp in Demopolis and Daryl Drinkard of Wilson and Drinkard in Grove Hill.