Brian A. Ratner

EXPERIENCE

Antitrust/Competition

• In Re: VISA Debit Card Antitrust Litigation - Hausfeld represents merchants in an antitrust class action lawsuit against Visa, Inc., alleging monopolization of the United States debit transactions market.
• Greystone Mortgage Inc. and First Financial Lending LLC v. Equifax Workforce Solutions LLC and Equifax Inc. - Hausfeld represents lenders in an antitrust class action alleging Equifax monopolized the market for electronic verification of income and employment services, causing lenders, such as mortgage brokers and car dealerships, to overpay when initiating loans for consumers.
• In re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation – Brian represents large corporations that directly purchased rail freight shipping services from BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific in their claims for damages stemming from the alleged rail freight cartel in the early 2000s.
• In re Vitamins Antitrust Litigation – Brian served as co-lead counsel in the landmark case on behalf of vitamin direct purchasers who were overcharged as a result of a ten-year global price-fixing and market allocation conspiracy. The case settled for over $1 billion, and in 2003 the case went to a jury trial resulting in a verdict of $148 million in trebled damages. The jury trial was the twelfth largest U.S. jury verdict that year.
• Empagran, S.A. et al. v. F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd., et al – Brian was one of the principal lawyers that led this case on behalf of foreign vitamin purchasers. The case was litigated all the way to the Supreme Court, resulting in a groundbreaking judgment on the scope of the U.S. Sherman Act jurisdiction. The case was designated as the “Matter of the Year” by The Global Competition Review.
• In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation – Brian serves as co-lead counsel in this landmark case alleging a conspiracy to fix the price and limit the supply of Vitamin C sold for export to the United States. The case resulted in entry of a 2013 judgement for $153.3 million post jury verdict in the director purchasers’ favor – the thirteenth largest U.S. verdict in 2013. To date, settlements total $32.5 million. The jury verdict was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled unanimously in 2018 in favor of the class and set the standard of deference to be afforded a foreign government’s submissions in U.S. courts. In 2018, the case was awarded The Global Competition Review’s “Litigation of the Year – Cartel Prosecution” award in 2018, as well as the American Antitrust Institute’s “Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice” honor.
• Oncology & Radiation Associates v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. – Brian served as one of the lead lawyers in a case of unlawful monopolization against a drug manufacturer, which settled for $65 million.
• Molecular Diagnostics Laboratories v. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., et al. – Brian served as co-lead counsel in a case alleging unlawful monopolization on behalf of purchasers of an enzyme used in DNA amplification, human-genome research, and medical diagnostics, which settled for $33 million.
• In re American Express Anti-Steering Rules Antitrust Litigation – Brian serves as one of the lead lawyers representing the class.
• Pre-stressing Steel Cartel – Brian represents Deutsche Bahn, the German railway, alongside the Hausfeld case team in its claim in the Netherlands against several prestressing steel producers for damages suffered as a result of an infringement of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, caused by one of the largest and longest running cartels in Europe. In January 2024, Deutsche Bahn won its appeal in the case, with the court of appeal awarding the requested declaratory judgment on liability and referring the claims to the procedure for the calculation of damages, while rejecting the steel producers’ arguments that the claims were time-barred under German law.
• Brian has been representing car manufacturers and other OEMS including BMW, Stellantis, PSA, FCA, Renault and GKN regarding their global auto parts cartel damage claims and helping them achieve outstanding recoveries.
• Brian acted on the defense side on behalf of Geodis in a U.S. class action against freight forwarders alleging a conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments.
• Brian advises businesses on the antitrust implications of their business practices and supply relationships and works with them to craft approaches to both eliminate or reduce potential risk as well as protect and enhance their ability to pursue antitrust claims.

Commercial & Financial Disputes

Brian has broad experience in complex litigation in fields including securities and investor litigation, commercial contract disputes, intellectual property, and whistleblower representations. His pioneering work in developing and offering flexible fee and case funding options allows clients to reach sensible and practical arrangements that prioritize businesses’ needs and help manage legal costs and risk.

• TOT Power Control, S.L. v. Apple Inc. – Brian represents TOT Power Control, S.L., a Spanish intellectual property and technology licensing company, in its patent infringement litigation against Apple, Samsung, and LG.
• MTB Investment Partners, LP v. Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc. – Brian served as one of the lead counsel in this securities fraud matter that led to a settlement that returned more than 115% of recognized losses after attorneys’ fees and expenses to former shareholders in HearUSA, Inc.

Public Entity

We have extensive experience representing public and governmental entities, including state Attorneys General Offices, municipal utility boards, and counties in high-stakes investigations and litigation involving a variety of legal practice areas, including antitrust, consumer protection, financial services, and environmental law. The firm’s public entity portfolio includes:

• Retention by state Attorneys General Offices for antitrust litigation against Big Tech platforms.
• Retention by the largest public water supplier in the country relating to environmental contamination.
• Retention by public entities to pursue antitrust claims relating to fraud in financial markets; and
• Retention by the state of West Virginia in one of the earliest cases against the pharmaceutical industry relating to the opioid crisis, filed decades before the current wave of opioid litigation.