New York’s Erie County Water Authority sues PVC pipe makers for alleged price-fixing
(UI) — New York's Erie County Water Authority has filed an antitrust lawsuit against major U.S. PVC pipe manufacturers, alleging they conspired to fix prices, artificially raising costs for PVC pipes used in public water systems and wastewater treatment nationwide.
The lawsuit, filed by law firms FeganScott and Douglas & London PC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claims seven companies—controlling 90% of the PVC market—collaborated through an industry platform to coordinate prices.
The 53-page complaint names Atkore, Diamond Plastics, JM Eagle, National Pipe and Plastics, Otter Tail, IPEX, and Westlake Corporation. It also names Opis, the information exchange platform the suppliers used in the alleged scheme. Opis is owned by Dow Jones.
The companies named in the suit include Atkore, Diamond Plastics, JM Eagle, National Pipe and Plastics, Otter Tail, IPEX, and Westlake Corporation. The complaint also mentions Opis, a data exchange platform owned by Dow Jones, as the means through which the companies allegedly set price floors, limiting competitive pricing.
According to Elizabeth Fegan, managing partner of FeganScott and one of the attorneys leading the suit, the defendants’ use of the Opis data allowed them to set a price floor for their products, strangling the chance for competition to correctly set the price.
“The PVC manufacturers knew that Opis was only accessible to subscribers, meaning public water suppliers and sewer authorities had no insight into competitor pricing information. The manufacturers colluded to artificially raise prices for their PVC products without scrutiny or accountability,” said Fegan. “While the manufacturers collected historic profits, public water systems and sewer authorities – and their taxpayers – suffered.”
Fegan noted that this is not the first time Opis has been involved in antitrust litigation. According to the suit, Opis was the subject of a 2020 lawsuit brought by the California Attorney General and two energy companies for illegally driving up regular and premium gasoline prices. That case was settled in 2024 for $50 million.
“Opis offers market reports to subscribers, fully aware that these reports could be used to influence pricing strategies or shape competitive practices, especially in markets with little to no competition – such as the PVC pipe market,” added Fegan. “This unfair and exploitative practice must be put to an end.”
“Public water and sewer systems work tirelessly to provide clean drinking water and protect public health and the environment,” said Michael London, founding partner of Douglas & London and lead counsel in ongoing MDL litigation which has recovered more than $12 billion for PFAS contamination in public water systems’ drinking water. “They should not be saddled with high prices for PVC pipes driven by the manufacturers’ corporate greed and conspiracy to avoid competition which would reduce prices.”
The lawsuit seeks to represent local public water systems and municipal wastewater collection and treatment authorities nationwide that purchased PVC pipes manufactured by the defendants.
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