Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Containerboard Price-Fixing Lawsuit
A U.S. judge has denied motions by several North American containerboard producers to dismiss a price-fixing lawsuit filed in July 2025 against them. The case, brought by plaintiff Artuso Pastry, alleges that the defendants engaged in coordinated conduct leading to multiple lockstep or nearly lockstep price increases between 2019 and 2023. Judge Mary M. Rowland ruled there was sufficient evidence of a potential conspiracy for the lawsuit to proceed. She rejected arguments from companies like Cascades, Georgia-Pacific, Greif, International Paper, Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), Pratt Industries, Smurfit Kappa, and WestRock that the case should be dismissed due to insufficient claims. The judge emphasized that while she would not weigh competing explanations at this stage, the allegations were credible enough to warrant further investigation. The defendants had argued price increases stemmed from higher demand during the pandemic and input cost changes; however, Rowland found these factors did not align closely with the timing of alleged collusion.
Topics: antitrust legal packaging industry