By Mike Scarcella
WASHINGTON, – PVC pipe maker Westlake (WLK.N) and a subsidiary have agreed to pay $67 million to settle price-fixing claims brought by builders and other buyers, marking the largest settlement so far in nationwide U.S. antitrust litigation over the PVC pipe market. Lawyers for plaintiffs disclosed the proposed accord on Monday in federal court in Illinois. The settlement requires approval by a judge.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleges that Westlake and other major PVC pipe manufacturers conspired to fix prices charged to so-called direct purchasers and others in the United States beginning in early 2020. Houston-based Westlake said it will cooperate with the plaintiffs as they pursue related claims in the lawsuit against other manufacturers including Atkore (ATKR.N) and Otter Tail (OTTR.O).
Westlake denied any wrongdoing. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The other defendants also have denied any wrongdoing.
An attorney for the plaintiffs declined to comment.
Court filings by the plaintiffs said more than $3 billion of PVC municipal water pipes were sold in the United States in 2022. PVC pipes are also widely used for plumbing and electrical conduit applications. The lawsuit said pipe manufacturers used pricing data published by Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) to share competitively sensitive pricing and customer information. OPIS, which is owned by Dow Jones & Co, last year agreed to cooperate with the plaintiffs and to pay $3 million to resolve claims against it.
Westlake’s proposed settlement would provide “significant” compensation to thousands of pipe purchasers, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers.
In addition to the cash payment, Westlake said it will produce documents previously provided to the U.S. Justice Department as part of a separate federal antitrust investigation into the PVC pipe and fittings market.
The Justice Department has said a federal grand jury in California is investigating similar conduct alleged in the civil lawsuit.
The case is In re PVC Pipe Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:24-cv-07639.
For direct purchasers: Robert Kaplan of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer
For Westlake: William Merrill of Susman Godfrey
Read more:
PVC pipe buyers settle with analytics service in first price-fixing settlements (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
