Judge allows containerboard price-fixing suit against PCA to proceed

A US federal judge has denied motions by North American containerboard producers, including Packaging Corporation of America, to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed in July 2025 by Artuso Pastry over six lockstep or near-lockstep price increases. Ten defendants, among them PCA and three Cascades entities, must answer the complaint by 29 September 2026 and file a joint status report with discovery dates the following week. Graphic Packaging International and Smurfit Westrock were dismissed late last year on grounds the court did not state.

Why this mattersThe case moves to discovery, exposing containerboard producers to damages claims and scrutiny of a market the plaintiff says five players now control with at least 85% share.

• Lawsuit filed July 2025 by plaintiff Artuso Pastry against North American containerboard producers
• US District Judge Mary M. Rowland issued a 49-page decision denying both the joint and the individual dismissal motions filed by PCA and Pratt
• Defendants must answer the complaint by 29 September 2026 and file a joint status report on discovery dates the following week
• Plaintiff alleges five main containerboard players control at least 85% of the North American market, up from 42% in the mid-1990s
• Ten defendants remain, including Packaging Corporation of America and Cascades Inc., Cascades USA Inc. and Cascades Holding US
• Graphic Packaging International and Smurfit Westrock were dismissed late last year, cutting defendants to 10 from 12; the court gave no reasons