Drywall Manufacturers Settle Antitrust Class Action for $125 Million

Affiliates of American Gypsum Co., National Gypsum Co. and PABCO Building Products LLC agreed to pay a class of direct purchasers $125 million to settle price-fixing claims in multidistrict litigation being overseen by a Pennsylvania federal court, class counsel said Tuesday.

Earlier, three other manufacturers had settled for $65.7 million, bringing the total settlement amount for the class up to $190.7 million.

The class action complaint accused the drywall manufacturers of conspiring to hike prices starting in 2011, making agreements to change their price quoting practices around the same time, conspiring to no longer provide so called job quotes, which used to lock prices in for the duration of a specific project regardless of market fluctuations.

U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson certified a class of direct purchasers in August 2017, which included distributors, buying cooperatives and contractors, that purchased paper-backed gypsum wallboard directly from the defendants anytime in 2012 or 2013.

The case is In re: Domestic Drywall Antitrust Litigation, case number 2:13-md-02437, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Steve Larson

An experienced trial lawyer who handles both hourly and contingent fee cases, Steve has expertise in class actions, environmental clean-up litigation, antitrust litigation, securities litigation, corporate disputes, intellectual property disputes, unfair competition claims, and disputes involving family wealth. Steve regularly represents individuals and businesses in federal and state court and has obtained class-wide recovery in multiple class actions. A veteran practitioner, Steve’s clients value his creative approach to resolving complex litigation matters.

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