Antitrust Class Action Lawsuits Lawyers

What Are Antitrust Violations?

Antitrust violations happen when businesses illegally conspire with each other in order to increase their profits.

U.S. antitrust laws protect fair competition in the marketplace. When a company engages in anticompetitive conduct, it has violated these laws and harmed both consumers and other businesses. Common antitrust violations include:

• Price-fixing: When competitors agree to set prices at certain levels rather than competing fairly.
• Market allocation: Agreements between competitors to divide territories or customer segments.
• Bid-rigging: Collusion during bidding processes to predetermine who will win contracts.
• Monopolization: Using market power to eliminate competition through predatory or exclusionary conduct.
• Group boycotts: Refusing to do business with particular customers or suppliers except on unfair terms set by a group of businesses.
• Tying arrangements: Forcing customers to buy unwanted products or services to get the ones they do want.
• Exclusive dealing: Preventing suppliers or customers from doing business with competitors.

These practices stifle innovation, inflate prices, reduce quality, and eliminate consumer choice — all while generating excessive profits for the violators.

Industries Commonly Affected by Antitrust Violations

Anticompetitive behavior can occur in any field, but we've seen patterns of particularly aggressive violations in certain industries. Here are some examples:

• Pharmaceuticals: Pay-for-delay schemes that keep generic drugs off the market.
• Healthcare: Hospital mergers and insurance consolidations that drive up costs.
• Technology: Monopolistic practices carried out by dominant platforms to crush smaller competitors.
• Agriculture: Price-fixing by processors and input suppliers that harm farmers.
• Financial services: Rate manipulation and fee-fixing by banks and credit card companies.
• Telecommunications: Market division tactics that limit consumer options.
• Retail: Supplier agreements that artificially inflate consumer prices.

Our firm actively investigates anticompetitive conduct across any sector where consumers and businesses face harm from market manipulation.

Who Can File an Antitrust Lawsuit?

Antitrust laws allow several types of parties to seek remedies:

• Direct purchasers: Businesses or individuals who bought products directly from the antitrust violator.
• Indirect purchasers: Consumers or businesses further down the supply chain who paid inflated prices.
• Competitors: Businesses harmed by a rival's anticompetitive conduct.
• State attorneys general: Government officials bringing cases on behalf of state residents.
• Federal agencies: Enforcement of federal antitrust laws by the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.

Many antitrust cases proceed as class actions, where a small group of plaintiffs represents a larger class of similarly affected parties. This approach makes it economically viable to challenge powerful corporate defendants.

How CohenMalad, LLP Tackles Complex Antitrust Class Action Litigation

Antitrust cases demand a unique blend of legal knowledge, economic analysis, and investigative resources. Our approach includes:

• Thorough market investigation: We analyze industry data, pricing patterns, and corporate communications to identify evidence of collusion or monopolistic behavior.
• Economic analysis: We work with economic experts to quantify the impact of anticompetitive conduct and calculate damages.
• Strategic class certification: We carefully define classes to ensure affected parties can effectively pursue collective action.
• Document-intensive discovery: As a large firm, we have the capacity to process and analyze thousands of documents to build compelling evidence of antitrust violations.
• Trial readiness: While many cases settle, we prepare every case with the expectation that it may go to trial against formidable corporate legal teams.

Through this comprehensive approach, we set up a strong foundation for success against well-funded corporate defendants intent on preserving their market advantages.

Compensation Available in Antitrust Lawsuits

Federal antitrust laws provide powerful remedies for victims of anticompetitive conduct:

• Treble damages: Antitrust laws allow recovery of three times the actual damages suffered.
• Injunctive relief: Courts can order companies to stop anticompetitive practices or even break up monopolies.
• Attorney's fees and costs: Successful plaintiffs can recover litigation expenses, which gives everyday business owners and consumers an even playing field.

For businesses, compensation can cover years of overpayments, lost profits from suppressed competition, and damages from being excluded from markets. For consumers, recoveries typically address the premium paid above competitive market prices.

The Legal Process for Antitrust Class Actions in 10 Steps

Most antitrust cases follow a structured path:

1. Initial investigation: Attorneys gather industry data and client information to assess potential violations.
2. Complaint filing: A detailed complaint outlines the anticompetitive conduct and its impact on the proposed class.
3. Motion practice: Defendants typically attempt to have the case dismissed, and a judge rules on whether to proceed.
4. Class certification: A judge determines whether the lawsuit can proceed as a class action.
5. Discovery: Both sides exchange documents, take depositions, and gather evidence.
6. Expert analysis: Economists and industry experts analyze data to establish liability and damages.
7. Summary judgment: The court may decide some or all issues before trial based on undisputed facts.
8. Settlement or trial: Most cases reach a settlement, although some are brought before a judge and jury.
9. Appeals: Court decisions on significant issues are often appealed by one or both sides.
10. Distribution of recovery: If successful, class members receive their share of the settlement or award.

This process might take a few years or even longer. Throughout the case, we keep our clients informed of developments and provide realistic estimates of timelines.

Deadlines for Antitrust Claims

Federal antitrust claims must be filed within four years from the day the plaintiff has the legal right to file a lawsuit. This statute of limitations can be extended in several circumstances:

• Continuing violations: When anticompetitive conduct is ongoing, the statute may restart with each new violation.
• Fraudulent concealment: If defendants actively concealed their conduct, the clock may begin when the violation was or should have been discovered.
• Government action: When the government files an antitrust case, private plaintiffs may get additional time to file related claims.

To learn more about the legal deadlines for your case, seek counsel from a plaintiff’s antitrust attorney.