Litigation is a core strength of Alston & Bird’s Antitrust Group. In addition to our trial work, clients retain us in a variety of class actions, telecommunication litigation and antitrust litigation regarding intellectual property issues. Our representative litigation matters include the following:
- Represent Dell and a major mobile device manufacturer in multiple matters, including prosecution of antitrust claims over price-fixing by LCD screen suppliers.
- Represented Dell in a commercial litigation matter involving claims of unfair and deceptive trade practices and alleged damages of over $5 billion in the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Jury trial resulted in maximum exposure of 0.02 percent of the total damages sought by plaintiffs.
- Represent a major manufacturer of computers and high technology products in appeal of consumer protection case brought by the New York Attorney General, defense of pending litigation the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that includes a state unfair competition claim and defense of putative consumer class action in Michigan that includes unfair practices claims.
- Defended AMVAC Chemical Corp. against monopolization and attempted monopolization claims related to AMVAC’s acquisition of multiple IP rights and alleged refusal to license IP to a competitor. Defeated a motion for preliminary injunction and successfully obtained a TRO enjoining the competitor from infringing AMVAC’s IP.
- Successful defense of Genuine Parts Company in antitrust cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and in the District of Idaho.
- Represented an automobile filter manufacturer in connection with 50 federal antitrust class action complaints consolidated as multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Achieved removal of the defendant from consolidated class actions prior to motions to dismiss.
- Representation of major building materials manufacturer in two price-fixing suits in multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ultimately negotiating a small settlement that constituted a small fraction of the class plaintiffs’ claimed damages.
- Representation of a major manufacturer of heat stabilizers and stearates in multiple class-action antitrust suits (as well as an individual opt-out suit) involving the sale of plastics additives in the United States. The firm also represented this client during a DOJ price-fixing investigation and helped secure a non-prosecution letter.
- Representation of Equifax in putative reseller class action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging violations by three national credit-reporting agencies of Section 2 of the Sherman Act; we achieved a dismissal of all claims and an affirmance on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In another antitrust action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleging monopolization and conspiracy violations, we achieved a dismissal of all claims and an affirmance on appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. We also defended a claim against Equifax in a suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging an unlawful Section 1 conspiracy and challenging as anticompetitive the acquisition of an entity owning an information pipeline to Freddie Mac.
- Representation of Equifax in the defense of a lawsuit by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) asserting Sherman Act Section 1 and Section 2 claims, as well as trademark claims, against Equifax and other credit bureaus related to the creation of a new credit score to compete with FICO score; through aggressive litigation, we enabled Equifax to achieve a settlement without any monetary payment.
- Representation of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (as the operator of the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) in suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia involving Section 1 Antitrust and Section 1983 Equal Protection claims for the alleged bid-rigging of a multi-million dollar advertising contract at Hartsfield-Jackson.
- Representation of a major mobile device manufacturer in multiple claims against parties claiming to hold IP essential to telecommunications standards, including claims for abuse of standard-setting process and failure to honor licensing obligations.
- Defense of a major mobile device manufacturer in putative class action in Superior Court of San Diego County, California, and California Court of Appeals, resulting in dismissal of case, and in two additional putative class actions pending in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California.
- Representation of Wachovia Bank and SunTrust Bank in defense of a multidistrict antitrust class action consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York involving allegations of violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
- Representation of Mohawk Industries, Inc. in a nationwide grand jury investigation of pricing activities in the carpet industry, multiple nationwide price-fixing class actions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and statewide price-fixing class actions in California.
- Defeated all claims brought against Mohawk in antitrust case in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on motion. An appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is currently pending. Second, defeated state law and Section 1 of the Sherman Act claims filed in Cook County, Illinois, alleging Mohawk conspired to exclude a distributor of flooring products. After engaging in targeted discovery, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed all of its claims against Mohawk. Third, we argued a non-antitrust case related to appellate jurisdiction and privilege issues on behalf of Mohawk before the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2009.
- Working with another law firm, we represent Delta Air Lines in connection with several antitrust class actions filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Multiple class actions were filed around the country, each alleging that Air Tran Airways and Delta impermissibly colluded to implement baggage fees.
- Representation of client in putative nationwide class actions brought in twelve states by indirect purchasers that alleged price-fixing for monosodium glutamate, resulting in an extremely favorable settlement.
- Represented a diversified media company in a class action lawsuit alleging that a large daily newspaper inflated circulation numbers to increase the cost to advertise.
- Representation of an industry-leading technology company that creates inventory management programs for automobiles in litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleging group boycott and refusal to deal.
- Representation of Citibank and The Bank of New York Company, Inc. in precedent-setting litigation against the FDIC for compensation of losses arising from receivership/liquidation proceedings.
- Representation of a global shipping company against monopolization claims in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
- Representation of Intel in the defense of antitrust litigation by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, and in the defense of antitrust litigation by AMD in the Tokyo High Court and the Tokyo District Court. Representation of Intel in government investigations in the United States, Japan and Korea alleging monopolization and manipulation of standard-setting bodies.
- Representation of Relay Health, formerly NDCHealth Corp., a high technology health care data services provider, in precedent-setting competition law litigation before the European Commission, resulting in the granting of rare interim relief measures.
- Defended United States Parachute Association against federal antitrust and state law claims related to membership practices of USPA filed by former members of USPA and their affiliated entities in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Obtained dismissal by Court of Sherman Act Section 2 claim and resolved remaining antitrust and state law claims through settlement with the plaintiffs.
- Representation of Atlanta real estate companies in a grand jury investigation and follow-on antitrust class actions in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, with ultimate settlement.
- Representation of a bar review company, BRG of Georgia, in two antitrust class actions in U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, with ultimate settlement in both cases.
- Representation of Georgia-Pacific Corporation in a putative nationwide class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia alleging price-fixing in the market for commercial paper products.
- Representation of GTE Wireless in numerous class action lawsuits in California alleging price-fixing of cellular rates between major wireless network providers; case settled with no cash payments.
- Representation of Verizon Northwest, Verizon Southwest and Verizon North in federal and state court actions in Washington, Oklahoma and Michigan asserting antitrust, consumer protection and Communications Act claims in connection with the provision of inmate telephone services; we obtained dismissal of all three cases.
- Representation of Safeco Corporation as lead trial counsel in a putative nationwide class action in Madison County, Illinois, alleging conspiracy in the aftermarket replacement parts industry; successfully moved to have Safeco dismissed from the action.
- Representation of major paper manufacturer in a putative class action in Florida state court alleging price-fixing in the market for high pressure laminates.
- Successfully decertified class of advertisers alleging improper billing for Yellow Pages Directory in Hazard County, Kentucky, Perry Circuit Court on behalf of GTE.
- Representation of Emory University in a nationwide class action against hospitals and universities in federal district court in Washington, D.C., challenging the national medical resident matching program as a price-fixing conspiracy; dismissed following passage of legislation by the U.S. Congress amending antitrust statutes.
- Representation of T-Mobile in class action litigation in Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California, and on appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals successfully reversing a ruling certifying a class and holding that claims must proceed individually.
- Successful defense of major internet search engine in putative class action litigation in Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California.
- Representation of major airline in 43 nationwide class action suits consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against major U.S. air carriers alleging price-fixing and in a companion suit brought by the DOJ; case settled with no cash payment.
- Representation of Borden, Inc. in the defense of criminal bid-rigging prosecutions on the federal and state level, followed by several price-fixing class actions brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by retailers in Florida and Virginia, in which we defeated class certification and/or obtained summary judgment.
- Representation of American Greetings Corp. in an attempt to monopolize case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, resulting in a favorable settlement for American Greetings.
- Represented Volumetrics Medical Imaging, Inc., a high-tech start-up, against an affiliate of Royal Philips Electronics N.V. in a case involving claims under North Carolina’s Baby FTC Act. Won a jury verdict of $318.75 million; the case settled on appeal for $180 million.
- Represented Exxon Corporation in California state and federal actions brought by dealers alleging violation of California’s Cartwright Act and unfair trade practices statutes arising out of the wholesale and retail pricing practices of Exxon and the oil industry generally. We obtained dismissal of federal antitrust claims on summary judgment and writ of mandate from the California Court of Appeals directing Superior Court to enter summary judgment on plaintiff’s Cartwright Act claims. The unfair competition claim was subsequently defeated in a bench trial.
- Represented Japanese vitamin manufacturer in federal and state class actions asserting claims of price fixing and in multiple opt-out cases following class settlement.
- Represented Travelocity.com L.P. in successful settlements of class action lawsuit asserting claims under California unfair competition and consumer protection statutes.
- Represented Sabre Holdings Corporation, a major computer reservations system, in an antitrust and intellectual property suit brought by a competitor to enjoin a deal between Sabre and a Singapore-based CRS company; after a four-week preliminary injunction hearing, we obtained a victory for Sabre.
- Represented Emory University and multiple administrators in a lawsuit challenging the revocation of a physician’s privileges by one of the University’s hospitals. The lawsuit alleged Section 1 antitrust and Section 1983 Equal Protection violations and related state law claims. We filed a successful motion to dismiss with prejudice.
- Represent pharmaceutical company working with another law firm in an ongoing multidistrict proceeding regarding alleged antitrust violations in patent settlement agreements pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
- Represent leading generic drug manufacturer in antitrust counterclaims against branded drug manufacturer who sued our client for infringement.
- Represent Premier, Inc., a leading medical products group purchasing organization, in an antitrust case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by a disgruntled supplier that alleges federal and state antitrust violations and related common law actions.
- Representation of National Conference of Insurance Legislators and American Legislative Exchange Counsel as amicus curiae in interlocutory appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals involving certification of nationwide antitrust class of automobile insurance policyholders as a result of failure to apply the “business of insurance” antitrust immunity codified in the McCarran-Ferguson Act.