Late October has been set for the first hearing in the antitrust lawsuit alleging major manufacturers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe, which are called converters, used the economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to overcharge municipal and commercial buyers of PVC pipe.

The lawsuit—George Bavolak v. Atkore Inc et al, (No. 1:24-cv-07639)—was filed Aug. 23, 2024 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which has scheduled the first hearing in the case for Oct. 29, 2024 at 9:45 a.m., but that hearing is a “telephone hearing” in which access is limited only to the attorneys and parties involved, according to a court clerk.