Collusion and Price Fixing
Facebook and Google Secret Advertising Agreement Antitrust Class Action
Digital advertising is big business now, expected to total $198 billion in 2021. The complaint for this antitrust class action brings suit against Facebook, Inc. and Google, LLC (along with its parent company, Alphabet, Inc.), saying that the two should be vigorous competitors for advertising yet claiming that they are not. The case centers on Read more
Pre-Filled Propane Tanks Antitrust Settlement
AmeriGas has decided to settle its part in a litigation against it and Ferrellgas, which does business as Blue Rhino. The complaint alleged that the two companies agreed to reduce the amount of propane gas in their pre-filled tanks from seventeen to fifteen pounds without lowering the price. This, the complaint alleged, improperly raised the Read more
Crop Input Makers, Wholesalers, and Retailers Antitrust Class Action
“Crop inputs” include both seeds and crop protection products, such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. This antitrust class action brings suit against a group of manufacturer defendants—Bayer CropScience, Inc., Corteva, Inc., Syngenta Corporation, and BASF Corporation—and two other groups of wholesaler and retailer defendants, alleging the companies “have established a secretive distribution process that keeps Read more
Conspiracy Alleged to Stop Retail Buys of Certain Securities Class Action
The complaint for this class action describes what it calls “a conspiracy to deprive individual investors … of their ability to invest in the open market in the midst of an unprecedent[ed] stock rise so that Defendants could shield themselves from incurring substantial losses as a result of their own high-risk short selling strategies.” The Read more
Keurig Single-Serve Coffee Antitrust Settlement
Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. is settling a 2014 antitrust class action alleging that the company tried to restrict or exclude competition in order to keep the price of Keurig K-Cup Portion Packs high. The complaint alleged that the company violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and other federal and state unfair competition and antitrust laws. Read more
GameStop Short Sellers Conspiracy to Stop Retail Buyers Antitrust Class Action
What was all that about GameStop trades? This antitrust class action centers on that story, bringing suit on behalf of small retail investors against a long list of defendants—brokerages, funds, and clearinghouses—with familiar names, such as Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, E*Trade, Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, and Charles Schwab. The complaint alleges that individual investors “were stripped Read more
Disposable Contact Lenses Antitrust Partial Settlement
ABB Optical Group, LLC (ABB), one of a number of defendants in a large, antitrust lawsuit, is putting up $30 million to settle its part in the case. ABB distributes disposable contact lenses made by Alcon Vision, LLC, Bausch & Lomb, Inc. (B&L), Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (JJVC), and Cooper Vision, Inc. (CVI). The Read more
National Association of Realtors Buyer’s Agent Antitrust Class Action
An antitrust case against realtors? The complaint for this class action claims that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has combined with a number of broker companies, such as Realogy Holdings Corp., Re/Max, LLC, and Keller Williams Realty, Inc., to monopolize their market. They do this, the complaint says, by requiring adherence to NAR’s “rules, Read more
Amazon Anticompetitive Agreements and E-Book Prices Class Action
According to one source, Amazon.com, Inc. accounts for more than 75% of the e-books sold in the US as of September 2020. The complaint in this antitrust class action alleges that Amazon has used its dominant position to restrain price competition in the “trade book” digital book market. Trade books include fiction and nonfiction for Read more
Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Retailers Crop Input Antitrust Class Action
This class action brings an antitrust suit against three groups of companies involved in the manufacturing, wholesaling, and retailing of crop inputs. Crop inputs include seeds and crop protection chemicals, like fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. The complaint alleges, “The existing distribution process maintains supracompetitive Crop Input prices by denying farmers accurate product information, including pricing Read more