Burns Charest has filed a proposed federal class action against a group of Canadian manufacturers, alleging that the companies have conspired to artificially inflate the price of cedar shakes and shingles sold to contractors, construction companies and roofers in the U.S. The litigation, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, includes detailed evidence of improper pricing discussions among the defendants as well as detailed economic analysis showing that the price of the materials has increased substantially since early 2011.

The lawsuit alleges that the price increases largely cannot be explained by ordinary market forces and instead are a result of the defendants’ anticompetitive pricing conspiracy. The lawsuit also claims that the companies conspired with the Washington-based Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau, an industry trade association, to muscle out upstart and discount competitors from the market, thus preserving the defendants’ ability to charge artificially high prices for their products.

The case is Fraser Construction Company et al v. Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau et al.

To read the filing click here.