Antonin Scalia’s empty Supreme Court seat has cost Dow Chemical $835 million.

That is how much the chemical company is paying in a decade-old lawsuit that was heading to the top court. Dow decided the death of Justice Scalia, a conservative judge, changed the balance of the suit and settled. It is a reminder that the gridlocked politics surrounding the Supreme Court have real-world effects.

Dow’s decision puts to rest the urethane price-fixing suit. Dow thought it had a good shot at setting aside a lower court’s $1.06 billion award to the plaintiffs on the grounds that it violated class-action law.

Justice Scalia’s death threw a wrench into this calculation, however. Not only did Dow cite two cases with rulings written by Justice Scalia in its arguments to the Supreme Court, but a split vote — now possible with four conservative judges and four liberals — means lower court decisions stand.

Perhaps Dow would have had to change its thinking and settle the case even if Washington was running smoothly. A liberal-leaning addition to the Supreme Court, quickly appointed, could have meant a majority of justices would support the earlier award to the plaintiffs.