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Antitrust Lawsuit Against Containerboard Giants Moves Ahead in Federal Court

By  |  August 20, 2025

A major class-action lawsuit targeting some of the largest containerboard manufacturers in the United States is moving forward in federal court, raising questions within the industry about potential pricing moves amid ongoing litigation.

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    In July, Artuso Pastry Foods Corp. filed a complaint in an Illinois federal court accusing eight companies of engaging in a coordinated price-fixing scheme. According to a statement in the court filing, the defendants — Cascades, Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging International, Greif, International Paper, Packaging Corporation of America, Pratt Industries, and Smurfit Westrock — allegedly acted as a “cartel” during seven rounds of price increases beginning in November 2020.

    Court records show that all eight companies were formally served with summonses last week. Additional documents indicate that Pratt Industries and Packaging Corporation of America retained legal representation earlier this month, with the most recent procedural activity recorded on August 19.

    The case has drawn significant interest across the packaging sector. While some industry observers initially speculated the lawsuit could be dismissed as another routine corporate challenge, legal experts suggest otherwise. Per a statement from Emmanuel Hurtado, an associate at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles who reviewed the complaint but is not involved in the matter, antitrust claims of this nature rarely lack substance.

    “In the antitrust space, it’s actually pretty rare for a lawsuit to be frivolous,” Hurtado said. “It’s really difficult to know whether the defendants are going to be liable, or if they’re guilty here, but it’s definitely not frivolous. It’s something that probably is going to have to come out in discovery, but they seem to have pretty solid basis for bringing the action.”

    Hurtado also noted that the plaintiffs’ allegations highlight prior instances of misconduct. According to a statement from the complaint, the defendants are described as repeat antitrust offenders, with at least ten prior cases resulting in payouts exceeding $300 million collectively.

    One such precedent came in 2010, when Minnesota-based Kleen Products filed a price-fixing suit against multiple containerboard producers. In that case, Packaging Corporation of America and International Paper settled with multimillion-dollar payments, while Georgia-Pacific and WestRock fought the allegations in court. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed after seven years, a decision that was later upheld on appeal in 2018.

    Source: Packaging Drive