Antitrust Litigation

A Proven Record in Price-Fixing and Anticompetitive Conduct Cases

Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP (PSW) has been at the forefront of some of the largest antitrust cases on behalf of consumers. Strategically located in Los Angeles and San Francisco, our sophisticated law firm has been engaged as lead or co-lead counsel in ground-breaking, high-profile class actions alleging price fixing and other anticompetitive practices in the high technology, finance and other industries.

We seek justice for ordinary consumers or businesses that are the ultimate victims when manufacturers and multinational conglomerates conspire to fix the prices of products, components or commodities, or restrain competition in various markets. PSW has secured multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts in a wide range of antitrust actions.

If you have an antitrust case or believe you qualify as a member of a pending antitrust class action, call us toll-free at (877) 391-8300 or send an email.

Current Antitrust Cases

• Credit Default Swaps Trading: PSW attorneys have been appointed as interim co-lead counsel, along with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, in a multidistrict class action arising from antitrust violations in the trading market for credit default swaps (CDS). The case alleges that some of the largest banks and financial institutions in the world conspired to restrain trade and eliminate competition in the CDS market in order to artificially inflate and maintain the transaction costs of CDS trading. Prior to being appointed as interim co-lead counsel by Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York, PSW attorneys conducted an extensive over two-year investigation into the CDS market, and secured a role in a competitive, nationwide search as legal counsel for one of the largest county retirement systems in the United States, the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA).
• Lithium Ion Batteries: PSW attorneys currently serve as interim co-lead counsel for direct purchaser plaintiffs in a multidistrict class action arising from the price-fixing of lithium ion batteries. The case involves allegations of collusive activity by a cartel made up of the world's largest manufacturers of lithium ion batteries, which are used in everything from cellular phones to cameras, laptops and tablet computers. PSW filed one of the earliest cases on behalf of direct purchasers and successfully argued before the Joint Panel on Multidistrict Litigation for consolidation of the cases in the Northern District of California. PSW, along with its co-counsel, organized a leadership structure of three firms, winning appointment by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers as co-lead counsel for the putative class of direct purchasers on May 17, 2013.
• Credit Card Interchange Fees: PSW attorneys represent several large, national retailers who have opted out of a class action settlement in a multidistrict case arising from anticompetitive conduct in the credit and debit card markets. The case alleges that Visa, MasterCard and their member banks conspired to fix the levels of default interchange fees and enforced other merchant restraints upon merchants who accept Visa and MasterCard payment cards. Many believe that this is the largest antitrust case in United States history, and it involves complex procedural, economic and antitrust issues.

See Notable Cases for more information about these and other pending antitrust cases.

Antitrust Success Stories

PSW attorneys have held leadership roles in numerous national and multi-national antitrust cases, and have obtained substantial recoveries for their clients:

• In re TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation. PSW served as co-lead counsel for the direct purchaser plaintiffs in this multidistrict litigation arising from the price-fixing of TFT-LCD panels. PSW helped secure over $405 million in settlements before trial, and then obtained a jury verdict of $87 million before trebling against the sole remaining defendant in the case, Toshiba Corporation and its related entities. PSW later settled with Toshiba and AU Optronics to bring the total to $473 million in settlements.
• In re Potash Antitrust Litigation (No. II) . PSW served as interim co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in this multidistrict litigation arising from the price-fixing of potash sold in the United States. PSW partner Bruce L. Simon argued before an en bancpanel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and obtained a significant 8-0 decision affirming the district court's denial of Defendants' motion to dismiss. On June 12, 2012, the Court approved a $90 million class settlement on behalf of the direct purchaser plaintiffs.
• In re Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Antitrust Litigation. PSW partner Bruce L. Simon served as co-chair of discovery and as a member of the trial preparation team in this multidistrict litigation arising from the price-fixing of DRAM, a form of computer memory. Shortly before the scheduled trial, class counsel reached settlements with the last remaining defendants, bringing the total value of the class settlements to over $325 million.
• In re Methionine Antitrust Litigation. PSW partner Bruce L. Simon served as co-lead counsel in this nationwide antitrust class action involving a conspiracy to fix prices of, and allocate the markets for, methionine, an animal feed supplement. This action resulted in over $100 million in settlement recovery for the Class.
• In re Citric Acid Antitrust Litigation. PSW partner Bruce L. Simon served as class counsel in antitrust class actions against Archer-Daniels Midland Co. and others for their conspiracy to fix the prices of citric acid, a food additive product. This proceeding resulted in over $80 million settlements for the direct purchasers.

What Is Antitrust Litigation?

The Sherman Antitrust Act, California's Cartwright Act and Unfair Competition Law and other state and federal laws make it illegal for companies to agree to fix prices or to squeeze out competitors to create a monopoly or cartel. Directly or indirectly, businesses and consumers are hurt in the form of artificially high prices. Litigation often arises from Department of Justice or European Commission investigations into antitrust violations. A civil antitrust lawsuit seeks monetary damages — triple the amount of the defendants' illicit gain.

What Is a Class Action?

A class action is a lawsuit brought by one or more individuals, commonly referred to as "class representatives," on behalf of a larger group, or "class," of individuals who have similar claims. The purpose of a class action lawsuit is to combine numerous claims of individuals into one action brought before a single judge to seek a legal remedy for all members of the class.

Qualified and Proven

Antitrust litigation is exceedingly complex, involving many millions of documents, extensive motion practice and many depositions. PSW has a sophisticated understanding of both the technological and economic principles of these complicated cases, and the ability to coordinate the consolidated claims of thousands of plaintiffs.

To learn how our antitrust attorneys can help you, or to discuss a possible antitrust claim, please contact us online or call us for a free initial consultation at (877) 391-8300.