Flamemaster Reaches Agreement With Morton

Flamemaster Corp. in Sun Valley said it reached a “mutually satisfactory” settlement ending its yearlong legal battle with Morton International Inc.

Flamemaster, which makes flame-retardant coatings and high-performance sealants that are mainly used in the aerospace industry, sued Morton a year ago in federal court in Los Angeles on antitrust and breach-of-contract grounds.

Chicago-based Morton, best known for its packaged salt, also makes sealants, other specialty chemicals and automotive air bags. Flamemaster buys the main raw material it uses to make sealants for U. S. military-aircraft fuel tanks and pressurized aircraft cabins from Morton.

Flamemaster’s suit charged, among other things, that Morton jumped into that business after merger talks between the two companies broke down several years ago. As a result, Flamemaster lost 30% of its sales that went to the much larger Morton.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Flamemaster’s suit originally sought $5.4 million in damages, which could have been trebled to more than $61 million under antitrust laws. A trial date had been set for today.