On March 13, Judge Robert Payne of the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied motions by JELD-WEN, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JELD-WEN Holding, to overturn a landmark antitrust verdict against JELD-WEN and in favor of Steves & Sons. A jury previously found that JELD-WEN's acquisition of its former competitor, CraftMaster, violated federal antitrust law by substantially reducing competition in the U.S. market for interior molded doorskins, and the jury awarded Steves $58.6M in antitrust damages-automatically trebled to $175.8M. The jury also found that JELD-WEN breached a Supply Agreement it had entered into with Steves. In rejecting JELD-WEN's attempts to set aside the jury's verdict, Judge Payne explained that "a review of the record shows that the evidence amply supported both the antitrust verdict and the breach of contract verdict," that "every element of those claims was proved by a preponderance of the evidence" and that the "jury rightly returned a verdict in favor of Steves." The Court also issued an Amended Final Judgment that reiterates that, in order to restore competition in the market for interior molded doorskins, JELD-WEN will be required to sell its doorskin plant in Towanda, Pennsylvania, which it acquired as part of its acquisition of CMI. After the plant is sold, the new owner of the plant will be required to enter into a three-year Supply Agreement with Steves. The Amended Final Judgment also contains important provisions that will protect competition and Steves during any appeal by JELD-WEN. If JELD-WEN's appeal extends past September 10, 2021-the date the Supply Agreement between Steves and JELD-WEN is slated to expire-the Supply Agreement shall automatically "be extended for one year beyond the conclusion of the appeal." Steves also has the right to request a longer extension during the appeal. During any appeal, JELD-WEN is required to "maintain the status quo at the Towanda facility." The Court has appointed a Special Master, the Honorable Lawrence F. Stengel, Retired Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to supervise the divestiture of Towanda and JELD-WEN's compliance with the Amended Final Judgment.
