Grabar Law Office has been featured in Law360 as counsel for Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs in an antitrust class action against major manufacturers of PVC Pipe in which $412.5 million in settlement funds has been recovered for the putative class.
Direct PVC pipe buyers asked an Illinois federal judge Thursday to preliminarily approve settlements totaling $212.5 million with five manufacturers in consolidated price-fixing litigation, which would more than double the $200 million recovery for direct purchasers already approved in the litigation.
In a 20-page memo supporting their motion, the direct pipe buyers urged U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt to preliminarily approve their latest settlements totaling nine-figures with defendants Cantex Inc., Diamond Plastics Corp., Prime Conduit Inc., Sanderson Pipe Corp. and Southern Pipe Inc. Some of the defendants are owned or co-owned by Japanese companies Mitsubishi Corp. and Shin-Etsu Chemical.
The memo argues that the proposed deal offers class members “significant cash payment and substantial cooperation that will enable the parties to litigate more effectively and efficiently. “In addition to paying into an interest-bearing settlement fund, the five defendants also agreed to give plaintiffs ‘counsel documents and data they already handed over to the U.S. Department of Justice and other government regulators in response to investigations into PVC pipe and fittings. The five companies also agreed to make several witnesses available for deposition and trial, and they agreed to provide transactional data and documents from a set of agreed-upon custodians. Additionally, they agreed to authenticate and provide declarations for documents that the plaintiffs intend to have admitted for summary judgment or trial.
The proposed deal is the latest cut in antitrust litigation initially filed in September 2024, alleging the defendants conspired to fix and raise prices of PVC pipes and fittings sold to direct purchasers in the U.S. since at least Jan. 1, 2020. If approved, the latest proposed settlement would apply to a class of individuals and entities who purchased PVC pipes or fittings in the U.S. directly from one or more of the defendants between Jan. 1, 2020, through March 31, 2026.
The memo estimates that there are more than 15,000 persons and entities in the class. Judge Hunt has already approved a total of $200 million in settlements in the litigation, including direct purchasers’ $67 million settlement with Westlake Corp., $72.5 million agreement with Atkore International Inc. and $39.5 million deal with Otter Tail Corp.
Read the Law360 article: “PVC Pipe Buyers Cut Deals Totaling $212.5M In Price-Fix Fight” PVC Pipe Buyers Cut Deals Totaling $212.5M In Price-Fix Fight – Law360
