Ohio accuses Cargill and Morton of fixing the price of road salt

The Ohio attorney general Wednesday filed an antitrust suit against Cargill Inc. and Morton Salt, alleging the two companies sold road salt to state government agencies at above-market prices.

The suit by Attorney General Mike DeWine claims the firms, two of the nation's largest road salt suppliers, divided the Ohio rock salt market between themselves, agreeing not to compete with each other.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent Cargill and Morton from continuing this alleged agreement, and the "disgorgement of any ill-gotten gains, which could be as much $50 million."

Minnetonka-based Cargill, in a news release, said it "emphatically" denies the allegations and is "extremely disappointed" by the lawsuit.

Cargill noted that Ohio's Office of the Inspector General, in a January 2011 report on road salt, did not support the allegations made Wednesday by the Ohio attorney general. The state inspector general failed to find that Cargill and Chicago-based Morton communicated on bids.

But the inspector general's report, which followed a nearly two-year investigation, did conclude that Cargill and Morton engaged in anti-competitive behavior through a "duopoly" that cost the state up to $59 million in overcharges.

Cargill also said in a news release that Erie County, Ohio, made similar anticompetitive allegations in a lawsuit last year, but that suit was dismissed.

Essentially, Morton and Cargill "predetermined and agreed on which defendant would win particular bids," the suit said.

"It never happened," said Cargill spokesman Mark Klein, "and I say that because the state's own report said there was no evidence the companies communicated."

In a statement, Morton Salt said the allegations are baseless. Its sales to states and municipalities are "in accordance with our high ethical standards and in compliance with the law," the company said.