Masonite Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Price Fixing Scheme

A Masonite class action lawsuit filed by a building supplies retailer alleges that two manufacturers of molded interior doors engaged in price fixing, violating federal antitrust laws.

Specifically, the plaintiff charges in the Masonite class action lawsuit that the defendants have been operating in violation of two provisions of the federal Sherman Act of 1890, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements and behavior intended to monopolize and control a given market through artificial means.

The Product

Molded interior doors
have been developed as a less expensive alternative to solid wood doors traditionally used for bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, etc. They consist of a frame and a hollow or composite wood core. Composite wood is a low-cost yet durable material that is made from a mixture of wood fiber, straw, and plastic, held together with a binding agent such as resin. The core is then covered with a laminate, or “doorskin” that is formed to give the appearance of natural wood.

The Masonite Class Action Lawsuit – Background

During the 20th century, there were several manufacturers of molded interior doors and components. Among them were Masonite, which focused on doorskins, and Premdor, Inc., which made the cores.

In 2001, the Department of Justice allowed Premdor to merge with Masonite, creating a single large company that produced both interior molded doors and doorskins. However, there was a condition: the new company was required to sell off its doorskin manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania. The spun-off company became CraftMaster, Inc. (“CMI”).

In 2012, Jeld-Wen, an international building products corporation headquartered in North Carolina, bought out CMI after a decade of mergers and acquisitions.  This made it one of the largest manufacturers of molded interior doors. Together, Jeld-Wen and Masonite controlled 85 percent of the market for interior molded doors and doorskins.

The Specific Complaint

The Masonite class action lawsuit alleges that in 2012, the first named defendant colluded with Jeld-Wen to push smaller competitors out of the market, thereby creating an illegal monopoly for molded interior doors. According to the complaint, Masonite “announced in 2014 it would no longer sell doorskins to other [smaller] door manufacturers.”

During this period, Jeld-Wen allegedly started the production of lower-cost doors while at the same time, raised its prices. The lead plaintiff, Len-Co Lumber Corporation, claims that the two manufacturers agreed to a price-fixing scheme, allowing them to charge unreasonably high prices for their products without having to worry about competitors.

The Violations in Question

Title 15 of the U.S. Code, the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, states that any contract intended to restrain trade is illegal. The Clayton Act, a 1914 amendment to the law, governs mergers and acquisitions, prohibiting such transactions when the result “may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.” This part of the law was again amended in 1936 to outlaw “discriminatory pricing services and allowances in dealings between merchants.”

If the defendants were to be found guilty of these alleged violations, they could face federal fines and penalties of up to three times the amount of any financial gain resulting from said illicit activity.

Len-Co Lumber and its co-plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial, and seek monetary damages and compensatory relief, including interest and legal costs.

The Masonite Class Action Lawsuit is Len-Co Lumber Corp., et al. v Masonite Corporation and Jeld-Wen, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:18-cv-798 in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.

Join a Free Interior Molded Doors Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you own or work for a company that sold Jeld-Wen and/or Masonite interior molded doors from October 2012 to the present or if you purchased the doors from a retailer, you may have been the victim of an antitrust price-fixing conspiracy. Legal help is available.

Learn More