US collective redress
Our US attorneys have managed a wide range of antitrust, technology & data breach as well as human rights, and environmental and product liability collective actions. Below are just a few examples of their work.
Antitrust collective actions
In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation, No. 06-md-1775 (E.D. New York)
Hausfeld secured more than $1.2 billion in settlements from thirty major airlines accused of participating in a global cartel to increase the price of air cargo shipping services for their customers – large and small freight forwarders tasked with moving goods around the world.
In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-mdl-2496 (N.D. Alabama)
Hausfeld secured a $2.67 billion settlement on behalf of employers and individuals with private health insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield entities, in compensation for damages caused by the Blues’ agreements not to compete with each other.
In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, No. 3:15-md-2626-J-20JRK (M.D. Florida)
Hausfeld is litigating a class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers who purchased contact lenses against the four leading manufacturers—Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, and CooperVision—and the dominant distributor, ABB Optical Group, for conspiring to keep retail prices higher. Hausfeld has obtained more than $40 million in settlements for the classes so far.
In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation, 13-cv-7789 (S.D. New York)
In a class action alleging that many of the world’s largest financial institutions participated in a conspiracy to manipulate a key benchmark in the foreign exchange market, Hausfeld obtained over $2.3 billion in settlements from fifteen defendants.
In re International Air Passenger Surcharge Antitrust Litigation, No. 06-md-01793 (N.D. California)
In a class action against two international airlines alleged to have fixed fuel surcharges on flights between the United States and United Kingdom, Hausfeld obtained a $200 million settlement for the class. The settlement was groundbreaking because it provided recovery for both U.S. purchasers under U.S. antitrust laws and U.K. purchasers under U.K. competition laws.
In re LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, No. 11-md-2262 (S.D. New York)
In a class action alleging that many of the world’s largest financial institutions participated in a conspiracy to fix LIBOR, the primary benchmark for short-term interest rates, Hausfeld has secured $590 million in settlements on behalf of the class.
In re Municipal Derivatives Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-cv- 2516 (S.D. New York)
Hausfeld served as co-lead counsel in this case against banks, insurance companies, and brokers accused of rigging bids on derivative instruments purchased by municipalities. The firm obtained over $200 million in settlements with more than ten defendants.
O’Bannon v. NCAA, No. 09-cv-03329 (N.D. California)
Hausfeld helped to transform college sports by pushing the NCAA to compensate college athletes for the use of their names, images, and likenesses in television broadcasts, rebroadcasts, and videogames. Representing a who’s who of current and former college superstars (among them Ed O’Bannon, Bill Russell, and Oscar Robertson), Hausfeld lawyers secured an antitrust trial victory against the NCAA—of which the practical effect is that college athletes can now each receive up to $5,000 more every year as part of their scholarship package (to cover their education, travel and medical expenses, and acquire pre-professional training as they enter the work force).
In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 3:15-md-02670-JLS-MDD (S.D. California)
Hausfeld is leading a massive class action against the leading U.S. manufacturers of packaged seafood products to recover overpayments charged to customers by Chicken of the Sea, StarKist, and Bumble Bee resulting from their alleged price-fixing cartel.
Technology and data breach collective actions
In re Equifax, Inc. Customer Security Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 1:17-md-02800-TWT (N.D. Georgia)
Hausfeld represented a class of consumers whose personal data was stolen in a massive data breach at Equifax, obtaining a settlement fund of $380.5 million, plus another $125 million available for out-of-pocket claims, for a total of $505 million in cash compensation for class members, as well as at least four years of credit monitoring and seven years of access to identity restoration services. Equifax also agreed to implement expert-recommended security measures directed at securing sensitive information, monitored by an independent third-party and enforceable in Court, with Equifax committing to spend $1 billion on data security.
In re Marriott International Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 19-md-2879 (D. Maryland)
Hausfeld is leading a class action seeking compensation for nearly 400 million people whose personal data was accessed by hackers in what Marriott called one of the largest data breaches in the country’s history.
In re Premera Blue Cross Customer Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 3:15-md-02633 (D. Oregon)
In a class action on behalf of Premera health insurance customers whose confidential medical information was accessed during an extended breach, Hausfeld secured a $74 million settlement from Premera, including a $32 million settlement fund.
In re The Home Depot, Inc. Customer Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 1:14-md-02583 (N.D. Georgia)
Hausfeld represented a class of financial institutions who had to pay to replace credit cards and cover fraud losses sustained by customers as a result of a data breach at Home Depot affecting 56 million people. Home Depot agreed to settle the litigation for $25,000,000 and significant injunctive relief.
Human rights collective actions
Kashef v. BNP Paribas SA, Case No. 1:16-cv-03228 (S.D. New York)
Hausfeld serves as co-lead counsel in a class action lawsuit on behalf of Sudanese refugees living in the United States, who allege that French bank BNP Paribas laundered billions for Sudan in violation of U.S. sanctions, knowing that the regime was committing mass atrocities fueled by the oil trade during the Darfur genocide. The U.S. government imposed a record $8.9 billion fine on the bank, but its victims never received a dollar from the bank in compensation. In rejecting the bank’s attempt to extinguish the claims in February 2021, the court described the bank’s alleged scheme with the Sudanese regime as a "profitable business relationship," finding that the bank allegedly "was able to generate those profits for the Regime (taking a cut for itself) in part because of genocide."
Environmental practice collective actions
South African silicosis
In a historic class action settlement in May 2018—the first of its kind in South Africa—we acted for African gold miners who suffered disabling lung diseases from underground exposure to silica including silicosis and pulmonary tuberculosis over the last 50 years. The precedent-setting human rights litigation reflected more than a decade of persistent preparation and litigation to obtain this compensation for the gold miners.
Product liability collective actions
In re Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 2:09-md-02047 (E.D. Louisiana)
Hausfeld lawyers helped consumers recover tens of millions of dollars from U.S. property damage caused by exposure to corrosive sulfur gases released by Chinese-manufactured drywall.
In re Prempro Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 4:03-CV-1507-WRW (E.D. Arkansas)
Twenty years ago, pharmaceutical giant Wyeth (later acquired by Pfizer) aggressively marketed the drug Prempro to women going through menopause and to their doctors. After large scale clinical trials held by the Women’s Health Initiative, it was determined that over 10,000 women who had taken Prempro developed estrogen dependent breast cancers as a result. Hausfeld represented 125 of these women, and the case settled for a total of over $1.2 billion and offered medical monitoring for the affected women.
Whether through judicial appointment or invitation from other similarly seasoned peers, our lawyers are often appointed to lead or contribute in steering the substantive and strategic course of mass tort multi-district litigations (MDLs) on behalf of plaintiffs.
