Today, Robins Kaplan attorneys representing a nationwide class of contact lens purchasers in In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation announced a pair of settlements with defendants Johnson & Johnson Vision Care and Alcon Vision totaling $75 million that will resolve the long-running antitrust class action upon the court’s approval.
The settlements were reached on the eve of a jury trial that was scheduled to begin last month in federal court in Tampa, Florida. Under the settlements, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care will pay $55 million and Alcon Vision will pay $20 million into a settlement fund for the class’ benefit.
Three other defendants in the case previously settled. The total settlements in the case now exceed $118 million.
The litigation, which began in 2015, alleges that the four dominant contact lens manufacturers and their largest distributor illegally conspired to stifle discount competition in the $4 billion contact lens market by imposing minimum retail prices for many popular brands of contact lenses.
“While we were eager to try the case before a jury after more than seven years of litigation and several pandemic-related delays, the settlements are an excellent result for class members and, if approved by the court, will return money to the consumers who we allege were harmed by the defendants’ pricing scheme,” says Robins Kaplan partner Ben Steinberg.
Ben Steinberg led the Robins Kaplan team since the case’s inception. He was joined by Robins Kaplan partner Jake Holdreith, who led the trial team.
Both settlements are now subject to court approval.
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