Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—JPML: Antitrust Claims Against Domestic Drywall Manufacturers Centralized, (Apr 9, 2013)
Organizations Mentioned:American Gypsum Co. | American Gypsum Co. LLC | CertainTeed Corp. | Georgia-Pacific LLC | Georgia-Pacific, LLC | L&W Supply Corp. | Lafarge North America, Inc. | New NGC, Inc. | PABCO Building Products LLC. | Spangler Cos., Inc. | TIN, Inc. | Temple-Inland, Inc. | USG Corp. | United States Gypsum Co.
By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LL.M.
Six actions and at least fourteen potential tag-along actions alleging a price fixing conspiracy among domestic drywall manufacturers have been centralized for pre-trial proceedings by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) in the federal district court in Philadelphia (In Re: Domestic Drywall Antitrust Litigation, April 8, 2013, Vratil, K.).
The actions allege that domestic drywall manufacturers have conspired "to fix, raise, maintain, and/or stabilize the prices of drywall products sold in the United States." The defendants are USG Corporation; United States Gypsum Company; L&W Supply Corporation; New NGC, Inc.; Spangler Companies, Inc.; CertainTeed Corporation; Georgia-Pacific LLC; American Gypsum Company LLC; Lafarge North America, Inc.; TIN, Inc. d/b/a Temple Inland, Inc.; and PABCO Building Products LLC.
All of the defendants, the plaintiffs in four of the six actions on the motion, and the plaintiffs in five of the tag-along actions supported transfer to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Plaintiffs in two of the six motion actions and the plaintiff in one tag-along action supported transfer to the Western District of North Carolina, while plaintiffs in four of the tag-along actions supported transfer to the Northern District of Illinois.
The actions shared factual issues relating to the alleged conspiracy, and centralization would "eliminate duplicative discovery; prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, especially with respect to class certification; and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel and the judiciary." The panel chose the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on the grounds of the preferences of the defendants and a majority of the plaintiffs in the pending actions, the locations of witnesses and documents, and the experience of the transferee judge.
The case is MDL No. 2437.
Companies: USG Corp.; United States Gypsum Co.; L&W Supply Corp.; New NGC, Inc.; Spangler Cos., Inc.; CertainTeed Corp.; Georgia-Pacific LLC; American Gypsum Co. LLC; Lafarge North America, Inc.; TIN, Inc.; PABCO Building Products LLC.
Cases: Antitrust