Antitrust Class-Action: $40 Million in Settlement Payments

Antitrust Litigation and Publicly Disclosed Settlement: Recovery of $40 Million

In 2016, Mr. Markham developed an antitrust challenge against 1-800 Contacts, which is the leading online retailer of contact lenses in the United States. Mr. Markham raised this challenge on behalf of online purchasers of contact lenses. Several other law firms brought similar cases shortly thereafter, and all of these cases were subsequently consolidated into one case, in which our firm collaborated with other leading antitrust firms. According to this antitrust challenge, 1-800 Contacts and several other online retailers agreed to restrict their respective internet advertisements for contact lenses and to withhold commercially important information from prospective customers. In this case, the purchasers obtained valuable settlements with the different defendants, obtaining a total recovery of $40 million. Original Case: (the first such case, brought by Mr. Markham): Stillings v. 1-800 Contacts (N.D. Cal., 2016, 3:16-cv-5400); Consolidated Cases: Thompson v. 1-800 Contacts, Inc. (D. Utah, 2016, 2:16-cv-01257-TS).