Otter Tail agrees to $73.5 million PVC pipe antitrust settlement

Otter Tail Corp. agreed to pay $73.5 million to settle two class actions in a sprawling federal PVC pipe antitrust case, putting new focus on whether inflated pipe prices flowed through to public works, utilities and other buyers in Otter Tail County and beyond.

The deal, entered into May 28, 2026, resolves claims in In re: PVC Pipe Antitrust Litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. It covers Otter Tail’s subsidiaries Northern Pipe Products Inc. and Vinyltech Corp., and it splits into $39.5 million for direct purchaser claims and $34 million for non-converter seller purchaser claims. A third class action, the end-user case, remains pending.

The complaints, filed in 2024 and later consolidated, accuse more than 20 PVC pipe manufacturers and Oil Price Information Service, LLC, better known as OPIS, of conspiring to fix, raise, maintain or stabilize PVC pipe prices from Jan. 1, 2021, through May 16, 2025. Named companies include Westlake Corporation, Atkore, JM Eagle, National Pipe and Plastics, IPEX, Diamond Plastics, Cantex, Prime Conduit, Southern Pipe, Multi Fittings and Silver-Line Plastics. Related reporting also identified distributors Core & Main, Ferguson and Fortiline Waterworks as alleged co-conspirators.

For local governments, utilities and contractors, the money question is straightforward: if PVC pipe used in water, sewer or drainage projects was bought during that period, those costs may have been affected by the alleged pricing scheme. The settlement website says purchasers of PVC pipe in the United States and its territories from Jan. 1, 2021, through May 16, 2025, may be affected. The direct-purchaser settlement site says buyers who purchased directly from converter defendants between April 1, 2021, and May 16, 2025, may have rights in the case.

The case has also attracted broader government scrutiny. Otter Tail disclosed in an SEC filing that it received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking documents about the manufacturing, selling and pricing of PVC pipe. In earlier filings, the company said any antitrust violation could have a material impact on its financial condition and that it intended to defend itself.

The settlement lands amid other legal pressure, including a similar lawsuit filed by Erie County Water Authority in New York in November 2024 and a Canadian class action filed in British Columbia on Sept. 26, 2025. For Otter Tail County buyers, utilities and taxpayers, the key issue now is not just who pays the settlement, but whether the alleged price-fixing inflated the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure in the first place.