We have represented companies and individuals in nearly every type of antitrust case.  We have won many cases on summary judgment motions, motions to dismiss or after trials on the merits.  In addition, we have achieved favorable settlements for our clients in many cases, although confidentiality restrictions limit what we can disclose regarding individual cases.

• Representation of Sun Microsystems, Inc. as co-counsel in Sun’s suit against Microsoft Corporation for antitrust violations and intellectual property infringement.  The parties reached a settlement that called for cash payments to Sun totaling nearly $2 billion and substantial additional long-term benefits, including a broad technology collaboration arrangement to enable the two companies’ products to inter-operate better.  The settlement is believed to be the largest ever reported between two companies in private antitrust and intellectual property litigation.
   
• Representation of Allstate Insurance Company in a nationwide antitrust class action on behalf of approximately 70 million current and former policyholders of Allstate, State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.  The suit alleged that the insurers agreed to specify less expensive “non-OEM” parts for vehicle repairs and failed to pass on the resulting ”savings” in their automobile insurance rates.  The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs’ claims were barred in their entirety by the McCarran-Ferguson Act, which provides an exemption from the federal antitrust laws for activities that constitute the “business of insurance” and are regulated by state law.  Sonnenschein took a lead role in the case, with one of our partners presenting the appellate argument on behalf of all of the defendant insurers.  The case set an important precedent regarding the power of state regulators, rather than juries, to regulate insurers’ rates and practices.
   
• Representation of a business created and owned by three leading automotive services companies in a complex antitrust lawsuit against three automobile manufacturers and their joint venture.  After extensive discovery and lengthy briefing, the court denied the defendants’ motions for summary judgment and other pre-trial motions, leaving our client’s claims intact for trial.  After the summary judgment ruling, the case was settled on confidential terms.
   
• Representation of the president of a major metal building insulation distributor against criminal price-fixing charges.  We obtained a jury acquittal for our client; other defendants in the case were found guilty.  Before the acquittal of our client, the government had obtained seven convictions and guilty pleas in its six-year investigation of pricing practices in the industry.
   
• Representation of Ivy Animal Health in the trial of a treble-damage lawsuit alleging price-discrimination in violation of the Robinson-Patman Act.  After a two week trial in Amarillo, Texas, the court held that price discrimination had not been proven and that, in any event, we had established a complete defense on “meeting competition” grounds.
   
• Representation of Rush University Medical Center in a nationwide class action alleging a conspiracy  to reduce the amount of stipends paid to medical residents.  Among other things, the lawsuit challenges the use of the “Match,” a computerized process designed to match the preferences of prospective residents and residency programs.  The suit names as defendants more than two dozen hospitals and medical schools that sponsor residency programs, as well as a variety of associations involved in graduate medical education.  The district court dismissed the lawsuit, and the case is now pending on appeal in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
   
• Representation of Knoll Pharmaceutical Company in the Brand Name Prescription Drug Antitrust Litigation, a series of federal and state class actions and individual plaintiff claims by pharmacists and consumers alleging antitrust collusion by pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers in the pricing of prescription drugs to various customer categories.
   
• Representation of The Boeing Company in connection with antitrust litigation alleging price fixing and market allocation by companies that manufactured carbon fiber and related products purchased by Boeing and others.
   
• Representation of a Fortune 500 company in a criminal jury trial involving allegations of bid rigging and price fixing in the milk industry.  The trial resulted in the acquittal of not just our client corporation, but also its subsidiary and all four of its executives.
   
• Representation of a major broker organization in a federal antitrust lawsuit alleging (among other things) unlawful exclusive dealing and attempted monopolization.  We argued and won a motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety.
   
• Representation of BASF Corporation and Knoll Pharmaceutical Company, one of its subsidiaries, in the coordinated defense of multiple class action lawsuits relating to the marketing of the thyroid medication, Synthroid®, one of the most frequently prescribed medications in the U.S.  The litigation challenged Knoll’s decision to withhold permission to publish a company-sponsored study on whether Synthroid was bio-equivalent to competing drugs, a study which Knoll had determined was flawed in numerous respects.
   
• Representation of McDonald’s Corporation in a number of antitrust cases alleging vertical price fixing and tie in violations, including Principe v. McDonald's Corporation, Kypta v. McDonald's Corporation and Levine v. McDonald's Corporation.  We also regularly represent McDonald’s in connection with franchise and distribution litigation throughout the United States.
   
• Representation of Bass Hotels & Resorts in a lawsuit challenging its arrangements with potential suppliers to its franchisees and its efforts to establish up-to-date  standards for room décor at Holiday Inn hotels.  Sonnenschein defeated class certification and then defeated the complaining supplier's exclusive dealing and tying claims under antitrust and unfair practice laws, winning  summary judgment from the federal district court in Little Rock, Arkansas.
   
• Representation of Owens Corning Fiberglas Corporation in a horizontal price fixing and price discrimination case brought against the company and one of its competitors in the federal district court in Chicago.  Our motion for summary judgment was successful and upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
   
• Representation of Allstate Insurance Company in a highly publicized federal antitrust suit filed in California against several major insurers by 19 state attorneys general, and in numerous related class actions filed by private plaintiffs.  The case alleged a “global conspiracy” to reduce coverage and raise prices of commercial general liability insurance.
   
• Representation of McLeod USA in defense of antitrust conspiracy and other claims against telecommunications providers who signed agreements to provide services to prisons in the State of Illinois.  The district court granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss on procedural grounds, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal on the merits, finding that the challenged agreements were not unlawful as plaintiffs had alleged.
   
• Representation of Illinois Tool Works in litigation involving claims that it excluded a potential competitor in furtherance of a plan to monopolize or attempt to monopolize a market for multi-pak plastic carriers for beer and soft drink cans. The litigation was settled after plaintiff's principal claim for damages had been rejected in response to our motion for summary judgment.
   
• Representation of Monsanto in a nationwide class action by farmers alleging antitrust violations regarding the safety of genetically modified food products.
   
• Representation of Eisai, Inc., a Japanese vitamin manufacturer, in federal and state cases alleging price-fixing by vitamin manufacturers.
   
• Representation of IMC Global Corporation in defense of conspiracy claims against potash producers.
   
• Representation of Sara Lee Corporation in connection with state law antitrust and “secret rebate” claims relating to alleged slotting allowances.
   
• Representation of Owens Illinois in a series of class actions and related cases charging Owens and other defendants with a conspiracy to the fix prices of glass containers.
   
• Representation of Frito Lay in a lengthy price discrimination, predatory pricing, and monopolization suit filed by a competitor.  Sonnenschein lawyers prevailed in three separate summary judgment motions, all of which were upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
   
• Representation of The Chicago and North Western Railroad (C&NW) in an antitrust action alleging a  conspiracy among five railroads to take action against the developers of a competitive coal slurry pipeline.  Sonnenschein helped C&NW to obtain a favorable and early settlement.  The action subsequently proceeded to trial against another defendant, resulting in a jury award that, trebled, amounted to more than $1 billion.
   
• Representation of the American Booksellers Association in a horizontal price fixing conspiracy suit brought against the Association and Random House by the operator of a discount bookstore chain.  The plaintiff claimed that his low pricing policies led the defendants to conspire to cut off his supply of sales merchandise.
   
• Representation of various manufacturers, including Dunlop Tire Corporation and Outboard Marine Corporation, in antitrust cases brought by dealers.
   
• Representation of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Group in a multi faceted case in federal court in Los Angeles that included charges of restraint of trade and monopolization.  The case, which involved multiple allegations regarding computer software, was resolved in a manner highly favorable to our client.