A lawsuit against De Beers Diamond Company was filed on February 17, 2005 by a group of St. Louis, Illinois attorneys --widely considered to be plaintiff attorney heavyweights. The case was filed on behalf of Emert and Katie Null of Madison County, Illinois. The Nulls claim that for more than a century the De Beers "cartel" has dominated the market for rough diamonds in the United States and worldwide controlling as much as 80 percent of the world diamond supply.

Currently, De Beers controls 50 percent of the world’s diamond supply, and an even greater percentage of the world’s supply of two-carat and larger rough diamonds, according to the suit.

In 2003 alone, the Nulls claim De Beers sold $5.52 billion worth of rough diamonds, and used its market dominance to raise the price of rough diamonds three times during the year, allegedly creating a 10 percent hike in rough diamond prices.

“Over the years including presently, De Beers has used its monopolistic power to illegally and artificially restrain trade and increase the price of diamonds by controlling inventory,” the complaint states.

The Nulls claim in October of 1999, De Beers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer, speaking at a gathering of Harvard alumni, went so far as to boast about De Beers illegal monopolistic behavior.

According to the suit, he stated that De Beers “likes to think of itself as the world’s longest running monopoly…and seeks to manage the diamond market, to control supply, to manage prices and to act collusively with our partners in the business.”

The class action is brought on behalf of diamond purchasers to recover damages for violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practice Act and for unjust enrichment.

The complaint also states the action is not based on federal law and the Nulls do not seek and will not accept recovery in excess of $75,000 exclusive of costs and interest.

De Beers recently announced that it will spend $636 million on the Snap Lake project in Northern Canada which is expected to yield 1.5 million carats a year for approximately 20 years after announcing that the Kimberly mine in South Africa will close after 134 years.

The Snap Lake project will be the first mine outside of Africa.

De Beers expects full-year sales to rise to a record of at least $6.4 billion after it increased prices and gem demand expanded. In 2004 sales were at $5.7 billion.