Picture this: At a meeting of local landlords, one participant raps his knuckles on the table and announces his grand idea for increasing the group’s collective profits. Each landlord should “independently” contract with a third-party pricing consultant, share current rental prices with them, and, as a condition for participation, agree to robotically adhere to the consultant’s subsequent pricing “recommendations” for vacant units. Those recommendations, in turn, are set ... Keep Reading »
Rough Waters in the Expert “Hot Tub” – Court Throws Class Expert Overboard in Google Play Store Litigation
One notable opportunity associated with antitrust class action practice is the expert “hot tub,” which generally speaking is an in-court, on-the-record “debate” between dueling economists, with the court, parties, and experts themselves (or some variation thereof) participating in questioning. Such proceedings are different from a traditional Daubert hearing, which involves questions from the attorneys and perhaps the district judge, but not direct questioning of one ... Keep Reading »
“Right to Repair” Class Actions Against John Deere Obtain a Centralized Forum
In recent years, a vigorous debate over consumers’ “right to repair” products they have purchased has earned the scrutiny of legislators and regulators, along with the attention of the plaintiffs’ class action bar. Until recently, the class action segment of the controversy has been spread throughout courts across the country. Last month, however, the most prominent set of right-to-repair cases were consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois, which will be a key ... Keep Reading »