The U.S. Department of Justice is asking an Illinois federal court to pause discovery in a case accusing polyvinyl chloride pipe manufacturers of using a commodity pricing service to exchange information and fix prices while a grand jury investigates the alleged activity. The DOJ filed a motion to intervene and stay discovery in the consolidated cases being brought by proposed classes of PVC pipe buyers, requesting an initial six-month partial stay of discovery and an immediate stay while the motion is pending.
“A federal grand jury empaneled in the Northern District of California is currently investigating allegations of price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation among manufacturers of PVC pipe and others, in violation of the Sherman Act,” the motion said. “The same conduct is alleged in these consolidated civil cases. “The DOJ’s criminal probe was revealed in November 2024, when manufacturer Otter Tail Corp. said that it had received a federal criminal grand jury inquiry. Atkore Inc. and Westlake Corp. later confirmed that they had received criminal grand jurysubpoenas as well.
Buyers started lodging their suits in August last year, accusing the manufacturers of colluding, via a subscription reporting service from Oil Price Information Service LLC, to keep the price of PVC pipes high after supply chain issues from the coronavirus pandemic subsided.
In addition to the companies that have received grand jury subpoenas, the private cases also name OPIS, JM Eagle Inc., Diamond Plastics Corp., IPEX USA LLC and National Pipe & Plastics Inc., among others. OPIS inked a $6 million “icebreaker” settlement with a pair of classes in June, agreeing to provide “extensive cooperation” to the buyers in their pursuit of the claims against the manufacturers. The reporting service’s cooperation includes depositions and trial testimony from current or former OPIS employees and the production of all documents it produced to the grand jury empaneled by the DOJ.
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