We are leaders in class action and mass action litigation and have defended class actions in virtually every industry and area of law. With experience in key areas of class actions, including consumer, antitrust securities and product liability matters, we have defeated requests for certification, won dismissals, and prevailed in state and federal courts and on appeal in precedent-setting and notable high-stakes cases.
Our practice is national in scope, including the recent defense of a nationwide class action in the wood-products industry alleging violations of the antitrust laws and seeking $4.5 billion in damages. We are equally skilled at protecting our clients from threatened class actions, such as defeating requests for certification of a nationwide class of more than 13,000 putative class members in a product liability matter. Our victories include bet-the-company class actions in the technology, transportation, pharmaceutical, financial services, manufacturing and health care industries encompassing claims of consumer pricing, fraud, and tax violations.
Representative Experience
- Resolved a putative class action, with dispositive motions pending, for third-party administrator against allegations of failing to provide compliant qualifying event notices.
- Won dismissal of consolidated class actions alleging pricing violations against an Internet ticketing provider and successfully defended the dismissal on appeal.
- Defended a car rental company in a consumer fraud class action by successfully moving to dismiss the complaint in the trial court and subsequently prevailing on appeal.
- In a novel class action brought against our client, a ticketing provider, we defeated claims that a concert was effectively “canceled” because the lead singer was intoxicated.
- A class action alleged that our client, a major airline, had wrongfully collected a federal tax from ticket purchasers for several days after the statute imposing the tax expired. The purported class plaintiffs sought the refunds from the airline, which had paid the funds to the government. The trial court (and subsequently the Seventh Circuit) agreed with our position that actions for tax refunds must be pursued against the government, not private collectors.
- We defended a rental car company in a class action alleging improper calculation of state and municipal taxes on rentals. The firm’s litigators obtained dismissal of the suit in the trial court and the Illinois Appellate and Supreme courts affirmed the decision.
- Our attorneys represented a major pharmacy chain in protracted class litigation involving the allegedly erroneous charging of city and state taxes in respect of the sale of certain non-prescription items. The case was finally decided in the Illinois Supreme Court, where our client prevailed.
- Defended a nationwide class action in the wood-products industry alleging violations of the antitrust laws and seeking $4.5 billion in damages.
- Defended a health maintenance organization in a putative class action by health care providers alleging inadequate reimbursement.
- Defeated requests for certification of a nationwide class of more than 13,000 putative class members in a product liability matter.
- Resolved a putative class action, with dispositive motions pending, for a regional health system against allegations of consumer fraud.