Strategic Defense in Criminal Antitrust Case Can Impact Civil Class Action Case Outcomes

Richard L. Creighton, Jr. — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0400

A criminal antitrust case involving two bagged ice producers that pleaded guilty to conspiring "to supress and eliminate competition" was recently concludeded in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. While KMK was not involved in this case, it does bring to mind a few key considerations for companies and their attorneys to weigh when faced with bet-the-company criminal and civil litigation.

ERISA and Federal Rule 23... Point 1

Michael L. Scheier — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0500

In an ERISA case pending in the Northern District of Illinois involving breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction claims, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking the court to allow them to proceed in a representative capacity on behalf of the plan under ERISA section 502(a)(2) rather than require them to certify a class under Federal Rule 23. The District Court in Chicago denied that motion based on the defendants' opposition, and suggested that the case proceed, not as a class action under Federal Rule 23, but as a "derivative action" under Federal Rule 23.1.

Complex Litigation

Strategic Defense in Criminal Antitrust Case Can Impact Civil Class Action Case Outcomes

ERISA and Federal Rule 23... Point 1