The remaining defendants in the drywall price-fixing lawsuit have agreed to a settlement. If the settlement gets approval, it will close the litigation. People who purchased the drywall between Jan 1, 2012, and Jan 5, 2018 will get the benefits from the settlement.
In December 2012 the drywall price-fixing lawsuits against various manufacturers were filed for the first time. The petitioners in the case moved the Pennsylvania Federal Court. Also, a consolidated and amended lawsuit was filed on June 24, 2013.
The lawsuit accuses various drywall manufacturers of conspiring to fix the drywall prices. The fixing of prices which lead the customers pay higher for the product. The anticompetitive action by the drywall makers violates the state and federal antitrust laws, as the plaintiffs claim.
The American Gypsum Company LLC, PABCO Building Products LLC, and New NGC Inc agree to pay an amount of $1 million for settlement. Also, the other defendants United States Gypsum Company, USG Corporation, Lafarge North America Inc, and TIN Inc, have already agreed for settlement which makes the total settlement amount $17 million.
Earlier in February 2015, the USG and TIN have already agreed for the settlements, which received final approval in August 2015. Another company Lafarge approached an agreement ten months later in June 2016 that was got approval in Feb 2017.
Most of the defendants denied the conduct of being illegal. However, they agreed for settlement of the drywall price-fixing class action lawsuit to save themselves from the expenses of ongoing litigation. The defendant companies can opt out of or object to the drywall class action settlement before the deadline September 21, 2018.
Eligible Members
All the persons and entities living in the United States that purchased the drywall in the US manufactured by any of the defendant companies, their affiliates, joint ventures or subsidiaries for the end user but not for resale are eligible for the settlement claim. The Settlement Class Period starts from Jan 1, 2012, and extends up to Jan 5, 2018.
The class members residing in or who purchased in or from a local entity located in one of the below-mentioned states are eligible for a claim against the damages.
Arizona, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
The Potential Award
The potential award depends on the type of claim, the weather proof of the purchase and many other factors. The people who purchased the standalone drywall and used it in a project in their home will get 17 percent of the settlement amount. All the other members will get the remaining 83 percent of the claim.
The class members will need to to show the proof of purchase that shows the price they paid during the class period for the drywall. The members not having the proof of purchase should declare the number of drywall sheets they bought during the class period or the area of drywall they installed in their house.
The drywall will be evaluated at a rate of $11 per sheet to calculate the price at which they purchased the same. The actual purchase price will be calculated as 75 percent of the estimated cost. The class members who do not submit a purchase proof are subject to a $100 payment cap.
The claims the state entities will submit will be valued at 61 percent for calculation of the recognized purchase value.
