Practices
Litigation
Antitrust Litigation

Antitrust Litigation

Shipman's Antitrust lawyers counsel businesses and trade associations, proactively assisting them in anticipating and avoiding antitrust problems. We work with clients on antitrust issues in contracts of all types, including supply arrangements, joint ventures, franchises, and intellectual property licenses. Our team of dedicated and experienced lawyers regularly conducts antitrust audits and reviews, provides antitrust handbooks, and keeps clients abreast of important developments in antitrust and trade regulation. When appropriate, we also represent clients in private antitrust cases, in federal and state government investigations and prosecutions, and in matters concerning European Commission E.C. Treaty Articles 81-82.

When litigation becomes unavoidable, we have assembled an agile team of litigators with a proven track record of success, able to assemble quickly to respond to the most complex, multi-district class actions and government investigations. We coordinate hearings, trials and appeals across the U.S. in federal and state court, and before the Federal Trade Commission and other regulatory agencies. Members of the team are lawyers in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and are able to add perspective from the inside that helps our clients succeed.

We counsel corporations, individuals and trade associations on matters including:

Price fixing, bid rigging and group boycotts
Territorial allocations and tying arrangements
Other vertical or horizontal restraints and agreements
Monopoly and "Dominant Position" issues
Civil Investigative Demands by state and federal authorities
Class action and multi-district litigation
Hart-Scott-Rodino compliance, including initial filings and second requests
Trade association activities

Experience

Litigation

Advised Client on National Antitrust Litigation Affecting the Dairy Industry

Agri-Mark, Inc.

Nine years of contentious litigation involving Shipman & Goodwin client Agri-Mark, Inc. came to an end in 2020. A class action lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois brought by a national class of direct purchasers of cheese and butter alleged that dairy cooperatives, as members of the National Milk Producers Federation’s (“NMPF”) Cooperatives Working Together (“CWT”) program, conspired to increase the price of raw farm milk, butter and cheese, by funding CWT’s voluntary herd retirement program. Separately, retail chain Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. brought its own antitrust suit in the Middle District of Florida, based on similar allegations. Plaintiffs and Defendant NMPF entered into settlement agreements in both cases in late 2019 and early 2020.

General

$5.5 Million Judgment for Client Following a Trial Involving Antitrust, Unfair Trade Practices and Breach of Contract Claims

In a case on the Connecticut state court complex litigation docket, the owner of a large gasoline terminal sued our clients claiming antitrust violations, breach of contract, unfair trade practices, misrepresentation, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. All of the plaintiff’s claims were disposed of before trial, and the case went forward solely on our clients' counterclaim for breach of contract. After two trials and two appeals, the court awarded our clients $5.5 million in damages and attorneys' fees.