We have particular expertise representing victims of antitrust, consumer protection and unfair and deceptive trade practice violations. Our clients include purchasers of goods and services who have paid too much because of price-fixing, territorial allocations, tying, monopolization and other antitrust offenses. For example, we represent consumers who paid too much for packaged ice because of a cartel among the nation’s three largest packaged ice producers; consumers who paid too much for milk and cheese arising from the nation’s largest dairy cooperative’s manipulation of markets on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; and merchants who paid excessive American Express merchant fees because of American Express’ anti-steering rules.
Our experience and qualifications have been judicially recognized when courts have appointed us interim lead counsel for classes in In re Packaged Ice Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1952, and In re DFA Cheese Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 2031. We author and publish a blawg, www.antitrustcommentary.com, widely-read by law firms of all sizes, government agencies, legislatures, courts and law schools. We have also authored antitrust articles published by law journals.
Our attorneys have also represented corporations in all types of antitrust matters — business practices, mergers, investigations and litigation. These clients are in a diverse mix of industries including agriculture, automotive, consumer and commercial finance, energy, food additives, pharmaceuticals, hardware and software, sports, supermarkets, retail products, hospitality and travel, and transportation.
Our attorneys have been instrumental in achieving key victories:
- Pre-answer dismissal of a complaint alleging that an exchange of wage and salary information among competitors violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
- Summary judgment (affirmed on appeal) dismissing a complaint against a trade association alleging that the trade association had facilitated a group boycott and conspired to monopolize.
- Denials of preliminary injunctions in actions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to enjoin mergers.
- Clearances of mergers before the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
- Persuasion of U.S. Department of Justice to block a merger of a competitor.
- Favorable settlements of class actions after significant victories during the litigations.
Our managing member, Matthew S. Wild, has devoted most of his career to antitrust matters and 12 years as an antitrust defense attorney at big law firms.
