Antitrust

All Nippon Airways Company, Limited (ANA) was the last holdout in a class action against thirteen airlines for conspiring to fix prices on transpacific travel and on fuel surcharges for such travel. It has now agreed to pay $58 million to settle its portion of this case.

This large lawsuit has been assembled from various antitrust class actions against makers of auto parts. The complaints allege that the makers entered into unlawful agreements that caused people to pay more for automobiles and parts than they would have otherwise.

A large antitrust case against makers of capacitors has so far resulted in settlements totaling $80.5 million. The complaint alleged that makers conspired to raise and fix the prices of capacitors over a period of more than ten years, thus violating antitrust laws and making customers pay more for capacitors than they should have.

Three of the defendants have put up a total of more than $5 million to settle an antitrust class action on behalf of direct purchasers of alum. Alum is used to treat drinking water, control algae in lakes and ponds, treat wastewater, and for certain manufacturing purposes.

Celgene Corporation is paying $55 million to settle antitrust class actions about its drugs Thalomid and Revlimid. The complaints alleged that the company acted to keep generics of the drugs off the market for a time, forcing consumers to pay more for the drugs than they would have with open market competition.

An antitrust class action and an antitrust case brought by the California Attorney General (CAAG) on the same topic are being settled at the same time. The suits claim that drug companies conspired to keep prices of the original drug Provigil high by delaying the introduction of generics and (in the CAAG suit) of Nuvigil.