DuPont Gets Final OK for Suit Settlement

DuPont Co. won a judge’s final approval to pay $44.5 million to settle consumer lawsuits claiming the company tried to monopolize the market for blood-thinning drugs.

More than a dozen suits were filed against DuPont, alleging the company violated antitrust laws by trying to block approval of a generic version of Coumadin. The suits were consolidated in federal court in Delaware.

Chief U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson approved the settlement and agreed to award plaintiffs’ attorneys fees and expenses of about $10.8 million, or 22.5%, of the settlement fund. About 2 million consumers who said they paid too much for Coumadin are eligible to make claims, she said.

DuPont sold its pharmaceutical unit in October to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for $7.8 billion in cash.

Shares of Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont rose 63 cents to $39.80 on the NYSE.