Antitrust

• Won summary judgment on behalf of Perdue in an action brought by multiple classes and over 150 opt-out plaintiffs involving allegations that defendants engaged in a conspiracy to restrict the supply of broiler chickens and claiming billions in damages. Venable’s team serves as co-liaison counsel to the court for the defendants (In re Broiler Antitrust Litigation)
• Won a unanimous defense victory after a seven-week trial on behalf of a large multinational pharmaceutical company in a multi-billion-dollar antitrust class action in the first “reverse-payment” trial following the Supreme Court’s landmark Actavis decision. (In re Nexium [Esomeprazole] Antitrust Litigation)

Civil Antitrust Matters

• Defending a property owner and manager in sprawling multi-district antitrust litigation involving an alleged conspiracy to fix rental prices in multifamily rental housing
• Defending Perdue in several class actions alleging conspiracies to restrict supply and increase prices in the turkey industry
• Representing Perdue in state attorney general actions alleging conspiracies in the broiler chicken industry
• Serving as the antitrust advisor to the Federal special master (and former federal judge) overseeing a complex divestiture for Jeld-Wen to unwind its purchase of Craftmaster, marking the first-ever divestiture order in a private lawsuit
• Defending a publisher of academic journals in an antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy to suppress competition for peer review services, restrict the competition for scholarly articles, and restrict academics’ and scholars’ ability to share scientific advancements while publishers review their manuscripts for publication
• Defending F.O. Day, an asphalt supplier and paver, in antitrust litigation brought by a competitor. The complaint alleges that five asphalt paving companies, one road-stripping company, and a trade association conspired to eliminate the plaintiff from the asphalt paving market, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and the Maryland Antitrust Act
• Representing a major industry association in connection with third-party subpoenas issued in multiple cases involving an alleged conspiracy to fix rental prices in multifamily rental housing
• Providing strategic antitrust counseling to multiple multinational branded pharmaceutical companies regarding proposed patent litigation settlements

Criminal Antitrust Matters

• Representing multiple companies, U.S.-based and international, in confidential criminal investigations before the U.S. DOJ Antitrust Division relating to allegations of price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation, including advocating to Antitrust Division prosecutors to close the investigations, narrowing exhaustive discovery demands in grand jury subpoenas, and working with international counsel in a related investigation by a foreign antitrust enforcer

Prior Matters

• Defended a pharmaceutical company in a long-running action alleging antitrust claims arising from the settlement of patent litigation. Defeated motions for certification of both direct purchaser and end-payor classes. Obtained a Third Circuit precedential opinion affirming the trial court’s decision denying class certification. (In re Modafinil Antitrust Litigation)
• Defended a pharmaceutical company as trial counsel against a class action and individual antitrust claims arising from settlement of patent litigation involving generic drug products. Obtained favorable settlements after a multi-week trial (In re Solodyn Antitrust Litigation)
• Defended pharmaceutical companies in multi-district litigation involving claims brought by private plaintiffs and state attorneys general alleging an industry-wide price-fixing conspiracy
• Represented Sunless Inc., a large manufacturer of spray tanning booths and solutions, in defending against antitrust claims brought by Palm Beach Tan, the nation’s largest operator of tanning salons. The parties settled the case as they were awaiting a ruling on motions for summary judgment
• Represented the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA), the trade association for mattress manufacturers, in litigation involving important First Amendment issues brought against ISPA and several of its members by a mattress manufacturer that alleges that the other manufacturers and ISPA have engaged in a conspiracy to smear the competitor. We prevailed on a motion to dismiss for ISPA
• Represented LVMH Moёt Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the U.S. arm of the world’s largest luxury company, in connection with the FTC’s challenge of the acquisition by Tapestry of Capri. The Venable team minimized the significant disruption to and burden on LVMH, given the multiple third-party subpoenas served on it and the accelerated schedule in the case
• Represented a major healthcare company in connection with a potential joint venture with another healthcare company to combine their respective competing medical equipment product lines
• Represented a large nonprofit educational organization in an FTC investigation of a proposed vertical merger
• Defended a consumer products company in antitrust class actions alleging a conspiracy to suppress wages of plant workers
• Defended a consumer products company in an antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy to suppress farmer compensation

Venable attorneys have served at

• Department of Justice
• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Trade Commission
• State Attorneys General Offices

• Global Competition Review
  • GCR 100 (Top 100 Antitrust Firms Worldwide), 2015 – 2022
  • Top DC Antitrust Practices, 2015 – 2019
• U.S. News – Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Regulatory – Antitrust, 2011
• Nightingale’s, Outstanding Healthcare Antitrust Lawyer, 2010