Antitrust, Competition & Consumer Protection

Plaintiffs’ side:

• Obtained a $151,000,000 dollar recovery as co-lead counsel on behalf of indirect purchasers in antitrust litigation against the leading U.S. and Canadian manufacturers of polyurethane foam involving a cross-border price fixing and market allocation conspiracy. The amount represents the fourth largest antitrust recovery ever on behalf of indirect purchaser plaintiffs.
• Obtained a $33,000,000 million recovery as lead counsel on behalf of indirect purchasers in antitrust litigation arising out of a nationwide price-fixing, bid-rigging and market allocation scheme among the country’s dominant manufacturers of liquid aluminum sulfate. The $33 million recovery represented an amount in excess of 100% of the treble damages being sought in the case — a result which is believed to be unprecedented in antitrust class action litigation. In commenting on the recovery, United States District Judge Madeleine Cox Arleo of the District of New Jersey complimented the firm’s “high degree of diligence, perseverance and skillful advocacy,” and remarked in open court that the firm’s efforts “could not have yielded a better result” for the indirect purchaser plaintiffs.
• Obtained a $55,000,000 recovery against Toyota and General Motors on behalf of a class of domestic automobile purchasers in antitrust litigation involving the imposition of wrongful export restraints.
• Obtained $36,000,000 recovery in antitrust litigation arising out of Organon’s efforts to block generic competition for the drug mirtazapine (sold by Organon under the brand name Remeron®).
• Represented nationwide classes of direct or indirect purchasers in price-fixing and other antitrust litigation involving such products:
  • $300,000,000 recovery from Glaxo Smith Kline on behalf of direct purchasers of buspirone under the brand name Buspar.
  • $175,000,000 recovery from Glaxo Smith Kline on behalf of direct purchasers of nabumetone under the brand name Relafen.
  • $75,000,000 recovery from Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. on behalf of direct purchasers of cisplatin under the brand name
  • $65,000,000 recovery from Bristol-Myers Squibb on behalf of direct purchasers of Taxol, one of the largest selling anti-cancer drugs in the world, arising out of Bristol’s prior efforts to block generic competition for the drug.
  • $50,000,000 recovery from FMC Corporation on behalf of direct purchasers of microcrystalline under the brand name Avicel.
  • $30,000,000 recovery from AKZO Nobel, Elf Atochem and others on behalf of direct purchasers of organic peroxides.
  • $20,000,000 recovery on behalf of direct purchasers of monochloracetic acetate.
• Represented large healthcare company in obtaining antitrust clearance from Florida Attorney General on three separate hospital acquisitions.
• Representing the purchasing cooperatives for Subway, Popeye’s Chicken, and Quirch Foods in antitrust litigation involving a multi-billion dollar conspiracy by the country’s major chicken producers to fix prices, rig bids and allocate markets for Broiler Chickens. The case is currently in the discovery phase, and is set for trial in 2023. 

Defense side:

• Represented the world’s largest generic drug company in one of the first “reverse payment” antitrust cases arising out of related patent litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act.
• Represented Ivax Corporation and its subsidiary Zenith Goldline Pharmaceuticals in one of the first “pay for delay” generic pharmaceutical suppression cases, obtaining a very favorable six-figure nuisance value settlement, where the other co-defendants, Abbott Laboratories and Geneva Pharmaceuticals, ultimately payed in excess of $90 million and $30 million, respectively, to resolve the same claims.
• Represented IBM and its subsidiary, TWC Product and Technology - owner of The Weather Channel Mobile App, as Florida counsel with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in consumer class action alleging violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) and various business torts; case dismissed with prejudice.
• Represented Fortune 500 companies in putative FDUTPA class actions, including cases involving flushable wipes, sunscreen, fuel surcharges, and movie rentals.
• Represented Florikan, a manufacturer and distributor of nursery pots and other nursery supplies, in antitrust action against larger manufacturer and distributor of nursery supplies.  Following extensive discovery and motions for summary judgment, the suit was resolved favorably, by agreement.
• Represented charitable gaming organization in Department of Justice price fixing, anticompetitive pricing, and antitrust investigation resulting in non-prosecution.
• Obtained the closing of a formal Department of Justice antitrust investigation for the largest satellite television company in Puerto Rico without any charges being brought.
• Representing the vacation ownership company Bluegreen Vacations Unlimited, Inc. in proposed class action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida asserting claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and seeking damages of over $420 million. The district court denied class certification.
• Representing Google and YouTube in connection with antitrust, FDUTPA and copyright litigation involving an alleged tying arrangement relating to allegedly unauthorized postings of copyrighted motion pictures owned by a famous Mexican movie producer on YouTube.
• Representing IMI Mobile (a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems) in defense of an antitrust class action alleging price fixing in the prison collect calling market.

Other experience:

• Represented the State of Florida in the investigation of and the multidistrict litigation against the three major infant formula manufacturers for price fixing, resulting in a $13 million Florida-only settlement.
• Represented the State of Florida in the investigation of and the multidistrict litigation against the major disposable contact lens manufacturers for price fixing, resulting in a $84 million global settlement.
• Represented the State of Florida in the investigation of and the multidistrict litigation against the major makers of commercial tissue for price fixing, resulting in a nearly $3 million Florida-only settlement.
• Represented the State of Florida in negotiating several settlements resolving multistate litigation alleging “pay-for-delay” antitrust violations by major pharmaceutical companies, including one on behalf of the states and the Federal Trade Commission totaling over $100 million.
• Co-represented the State of Florida in the investigation and litigation against the major milk processors in Florida for rigging bids on school milk, resulting in a then record $34 million state bid-rigging recovery.
• Led the multi-million-dollar settlement negotiations on behalf of the State of Florida with a large residential home developer to resolve complaints regarding alleged construction defects in certain developments.
• Worked on behalf of the State of Florida to help obtain a creative case resolution with a major Florida mortgage servicer to resolve certain servicing and other related concerns.
• Successfully negotiated on behalf of the State of Florida a settlement with a major global investment firm to resolve potential claims regarding the collapse of Florida’s Local Government Investment Pool.
• Advised businesses involved in the following mergers or acquisitions: Live Nation/Ticketmaster, Yahoo HotJobs/Monster.com, DirecTV/Liberty Entertainment, and Energy Transfer Equity/Southern Union Company, enabling them to obtain antitrust clearance by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.