By Nick Brown

Law360, New York (September 16, 2009, 5:44 PM ET) -- Plaintiffs in an antitrust multidistrict litigation have filed a consolidated amended complaint claiming three of the country's largest packaged ice distributors violated the Sherman Act by agreeing not to compete with each other.

The putative class action, lodged Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accuses ice manufacturers and distributors Reddy Ice Holdings Inc., Arctic Glacier Income Fund, the Home City Ice Co. and subsidiaries of keeping prices high by establishing agreed-upon regional monopolies.

The plaintiffs, direct purchasers comprised of drug...