OSB Antitrust Update

OSB Antitrust Litigation: Court grants Plaintiffs’ class certification motion and denies Defendants’ motions to dismiss.

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Aug. 9, 2007: Class Certification and denials of motions to dismiss in In re OSB Antitrust Litigation.

D&G represents direct purchasers of Oriented Stand Board in an antitrust class action against OSB manufacturers. The suits name as Defendants nine companies – including Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Georgia-Pacific Corp., and Weyerhaeuser Co. – which together control 95 percent of the OSB market in North America. One Defendant, J.M. Huber has already agreed to pay approximately $2 million to settle the case.

OSB is a plywood substitute manufactured by compressing multiple layers of thin wood shavings under intense heat and pressure. The lawsuit alleges that OSB manufacturers reduced OSB production by keeping OSB from the market through mill shutdowns, delaying or canceling construction of new OSB mills and buying OSB from competitors instead of manufacturing it themselves at a lower cost. The suit alleges that the conspiracy resulted in a dramatic increase in the price of OSB.

For more information, contact David Guin.