Antitrust / Competition

In the U.S., in In re Payment Card Interchange and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, Master Docket No. 05-1720 (E.D.N.Y.), the Court approved a Class Action Settlement on December 13, 2013 among merchants, Visa, MasterCard, and other Defendants in the lawsuit.

Hausfeld served as co-lead counsel for a class of direct purchasers of endosurgical products, including trocars and clip appliers. 

Settlements with over 30 defendants for more than $1.2 billion over course of litigation concerning price-fixing of air cargo shipping on behalf of freight forwarders.

Hausfeld has filed one of the first antitrust class action complaints in the country on behalf of domestic air passengers.

Following Espar, Inc.’s admission of guilt in the Eastern District of New York on March 12, Hausfeld filed suit on behalf of a class of direct purchasers against Espar for its violations of the Sherman Act.

Hausfeld represents end-payer plaintiffs in historic antitrust price-fixing litigation against some of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world.

In this consolidated litigation alleging a price-fixing conspiracy between the leading packaged tuna manufacturers—Chicken of the Sea, StarKist, and Bumble Bee, and their parent companies—Hausfeld LLP is the Court-appointed sole interim lead counsel for a proposed class of Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs. 

Hausfeld represented direct purchasers in this antitrust class action alleging that defendants engaged in illegal tying, bundling, and exclusive dealing.

Hausfeld represents a class of direct purchasers of fresh and process potatoes bringing claims against potato growers, their cooperatives, processors, and packers that violated federal antitrust laws by conspiring to manipulate the price and supply of potatoes. federal antitrust laws by conspiring to manipulate the price and supply of potatoes.

Hausfeld serves as co-lead counsel for two certified classes of businesses that directly purchased bulk vitamins and were overcharged as a result of a ten year global price-fixing and market allocation cartel. The court approved eight major settlements between certain vitamin defendants and the Class Plaintiffs, including a landmark partial settlement of $1.1 billion.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic conspired to increase the fuel surcharge they added to the price of tickets for “long haul” flights to and from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Hausfeld serves as co-lead counsel for a class of dental practices in an antitrust class action alleging an illegal group boycott and price fixing conspiracy. 

Class action against drug manufacturer for anticompetitive conduct that has allowed for monopoly pricing and prevented generic competition for drugs Thalomid and Revlimid. 

Hausfeld serves as co-lead counsel in this multidistrict litigation, representing a class of direct purchasers of the industrial chemicals methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) in claims against major industrial suppliers for conspiring to artificially inflate prices in violation of federal antitrust law. See In Re: Diisocyanates Antitrust Litigation, No. 18-mc-01001 (W.D. Pa.).

In this multidistrict litigation, plaintiffs include a class of investors who transacted in VIX instruments alleging that a number of trading firms and financial institutions conspired to post bids on certain S&P 500 options during a fixed, short window of nontrading hours to influence the CBOE-Special Opening Quotation (“SOQ”) formula that calculates settlement prices of VIX instruments.

Hausfeld was appointed to be on the Executive Committee in this litigation representing direct-purchaser plaintiffs who allege that manufacturers of polyurethane foam fixed the prices.

Hausfeld represented a class of hospitals and medical providers in an antitrust class action alleging illegal bundling and monopolization.

Hausfeld serves as co-lead class counsel representing a proposed class of tax payers who became delinquent on their real property tax obligations, often as a result of disability and/or economic hardship...

Hausfeld represents parties that engaged in over-the-counter foreign exchange ("FX") transactions with the world's largest banks and their affiliates and investors who entered into FX transactions through domestic exchanges. This class action lawsuit alleges that these banks colluded to fix and manipulate the prices of FX transactions.

Hausfeld, appointed as Lead Counsel in this multidistrict litigation, represents a class of merchant plaintiffs against American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (collectively, “Amex”) in connection with claims that Amex’s Non-Discrimination Provisions (or “Anti-Steering Rules”) unreasonably restrain interbrand price competition among credit and charge card networks. See In re American Express Anti-Steering Rules Antitrust Litigation, No. 11-MD-2221 (NGG)(RER) (E.D.N.Y.). 

The case alleges that the agreements that Blue Cross Blue Shield entities have reached to divide the market and not compete with each other constitutes a violation of the Sherman Act. 

Hausfeld is Co-Lead Counsel for a putative class of direct purchaser plaintiffs in this antitrust price-fixing class action in which plaintiffs allege that manufacturers of processed tomato products unlawfully conspired to fix prices in violation of the federal Sherman Act.

Hausfeld, on behalf of purchasers of contact lenses subject to Unilateral Pricing Policies, filed a class action complaint against these manufacturers and ABB Optical Group, which is the self-proclaimed “largest distributor of soft contact lenses” in America.

Hausfeld has been appointed co-lead counsel for a putative class of direct purchaser plaintiffs in this antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy by airlines to fix the prices of passenger fares and/or fuel surcharges for trans-Pacific air passenger transportation services to and from the United States in violation of the federal Sherman Act.

Hausfeld was among the counsel for a putative class of direct purchaser plaintiffs in this antitrust class action in which plaintiffs alleged price-fixing by the leading manufacturers of TFT-LCD panels.

Hausfeld is Co-Lead Counsel in a class action lawsuit alleging a global conspiracy by some of the world’s largest banks to manipulate the London InterBank Offered Rate.

Hausfeld was appointed co-lead counsel in this nationwide class action lawsuit against banks, insurance companies, and brokers alleging widespread price-fixing and bid rigging in the multi-billion dollar municipal derivatives industry dating back to 1992.

Hausfeld filed the first antitrust class action on behalf of businesses against DirecTV and the National Football League.

Hausfeld is one of the Co-Lead Counsel representing direct purchasers of shell eggs and processed egg products who allege that a near industry-wide price fixing conspiracy artificially raised the price of eggs over the past several years.

Settlements of nearly $32 million have been reached with defendant manufacturers of optical disc drives (drives that play CDs, DVDs or Blu-Ray discs) that are used in or with computers and other types of equipment conspired to fix prices for such drives.

In this consolidated litigation alleging a price-fixing conspiracy between the leading manufacturers of Inductors, Hausfeld LLP is the Court-appointed interim co-lead counsel along with Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP for the proposed class of Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs. 

Over the last few years, competition authorities from 15 separate jurisdictions including Europe, the US, and Asia have undertaken over 30 investigations into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts sector. 

Hausfeld is among the counsel for a putative class of direct purchaser plaintiffs in this antitrust price-fixing class action in which plaintiffs allege price-fixing by the leading manufacturers of: (a) color picture tubes (“CPTs”), which are cathode ray tubes (“CRTs”) used in color televisions and similar devices; (b) color display tubes (“CDTs”), which are CRTs used in color computer monitors or similar devices; and (c) electronic devices containing CPTs (such as televisions) or CDTs (such as computer monitors).

Hausfeld is among the counsel in this antitrust price-fixing class action in which plaintiffs allege that three Taiwanese manufacturers of Aftermarket Automotive Lighting Products (AALP) unlawfully conspired to fix prices in violation of the Sherman Act.

Hausfeld, appointed as sole Lead Counsel in this multidistrict litigation, represents a class of purchasers of television advertising spots against broadcast giants in connection with claims that the television station owners conspired to artificially inflate prices for television advertisements in violation of the federal antitrust laws.

Hausfeld served as co-lead counsel for a class of direct purchaser plaintiffs of Korean Ramen Noodles in the action In re Korean Ramen Antitrust Litigation,13-cv-04115-WHO-DMR, litigated in a federal district court in San Francisco, California. 

In one of the largest pending antitrust class actions in the United States, Hausfeld serves as Co-Lead Counsel for a proposed class of freight shippers who allege that the Defendants conspired to fix the price of rail freight services through coordinated fuel surcharge programs and policies.

Hausfeld represents a class of hospitals, laboratories and donor blood centers in this antitrust class action in which plaintiffs allege that defendants, the two dominant companies in the U.S. blood reagents industry...

Hausfeld is Co-Lead Counsel for a proposed class of broiler chicken growers in an antitrust action alleging that vertically-integrated poultry companies formed a nationwide conspiracy to suppress and maintain broiler chicken growers’ compensation below competitive levels.

Hausfeld represents direct purchaser plaintiffs in the first antitrust case to successfully garner a jury verdict in the United States against Chinese manufacturers. The plaintiffs alleged that Chinese pharmaceutical companies Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Jiangsu Jiangshan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., JSPC America, Inc., Northeast Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd., Weisheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical (USA), Inc., and China Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. conspired to fix prices and control export output of Vitamin C beginning in 2001.

Ed O’Bannon and thousands of former basketball and football players allege that the NCAA, its members, and its commercial partners violated federal antitrust law by unlawfully foreclosing former players from receiving any compensation related to the use of their images and likenesses.