Antitrust and Technology Disputes

Litigation and Appeals

• Part of the core trial team that secured on behalf of Epic Games a jury verdict against Google in the Google Play Store Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. After a four-week-long trial, the jury deliberated for fewer than three hours before returning a verdict for Epic on every claim it had brought, including that Google engaged in unlawful monopolization, illegal restraints of trade, and tying, in violation of the Sherman Act. Epic’s suit successfully challenged Google’s anticompetitive conduct in markets for Android app distribution and in-app billing services for digital goods. Wiggin’s trial responsibilities, among others, included eliciting trial testimony from key third parties.
• Part of the trial team that on behalf of Epic Games won a first-of-its-kind permanent injunction against Apple, requiring it to change how it operates its platform. That result was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit and, following the Supreme Court’s cert denial, is now the law of the land.
• Represent leading innovators in connection with antitrust litigation and technology licensing disputes concerning standard essential patents (“SEPs”) and non-essential patents (“NEPs”) in the areas of cellular communications (3G, 4G/LTE, 5G), video coding, WiFi, Bluetooth and other standardized technologies. We have represented licensors in disputes and negotiations opposite virtually all major cellular licensees, including Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, Oppo, Vivo, ZTE and others.
• Represent a major international pharmaceutical company as lead counsel in one of the largest antitrust multidistrict litigations in recent times concerning alleged price fixing of generic drugs. This group of cases was brought by state attorneys general and drug purchasers, among others.
• Defended a leading pharmaceutical company in connection with alleged monopolization of an alleged technology market for a certain drug. Dismissal of the antitrust claims was pending when that portion of the case was successfully bifurcated.
• Successfully defended on behalf of our client, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, certain of Connecticut’s liquor pricing laws against claims that the statutes were preempted by the federal antitrust laws. We obtained dismissal of the suit in district court, successfully defended that result on appeal in Second Circuit and successfully opposed certiorari in the Supreme Court despite a long-standing circuit split.
• Successfully represented a major company in reaching a complete resolution of a criminal Section 1 price fixing and bid rigging case. We achieved a favorable outcome for our client, resulting in a term of no probation and the government returning funds to our client that had been previously seized—a result not achieved by any other corporate defendant in the matter.
• Frequently represent clients in the Supreme Court as amici in some of the most important Supreme Court antitrust litigations in recent times. In 2018, we submitted an amicus brief on behalf of two well-known antitrust economists, Greg Sidak and Bobby Willig, in Ohio v. American Express, one of the most important antitrust cases in a generation. Our brief supported American Express’s successful position regarding how two–sided markets should be evaluated under the federal antitrust laws. In 2007, we filed an amicus brief on behalf of our client PING in the Leegincase setting forth our client’s unique story about why resale price maintenance agreements can actually be pro-competitive. The brief was cited favorably by the Supreme Court in overturning nearly 100 years of antitrust precedent concerning treatment of certain vertical restraints.
• Succeeded in having our client, a leading streaming platform, dismissed as a party in a high-stakes arbitration involving stakeholders in the platform.
• Represent a multi-exchange crypto-trading platform in connection with various litigation efforts in the crypto industry.
• Represent real estate brokerage clients in antitrust litigation in federal court concerning real estate brokerage rules.

Merger Control and Government Investigations

• Prepared HSR filings and coordinated global multi-jurisdictional filings.
• Successfully engaged with antitrust regulators throughout the Second Request process to grant successful compliance, and permit transactions to close, including in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, aerospace, medical device, and logistics sectors.
• Successfully represented clients before federal agencies in connection with proposed mergers in several areas including hospital systems, home care and hospice services, and veterinary platforms.
• Represented leading hospital systems, franchisors, and veterinary platforms before federal agencies in connection with subpoenas and civil investigative demands.
• Represented an international manufacturer in connection with an FTC and multi-state investigation into a leading technology platform.
• Advocate on behalf of leading licensors in connection with proposed initiatives by standards development organizations, regulators, and other bodies, as well as government and regulatory investigations.
• Completed a successful internal investigation of antitrust claims asserted by a disgruntled employee of a major auto services company, finding, after careful review of the facts, that they lacked merit.

Counseling

• Advised clients concerning antitrust risk in connection with potential transactions and/or transaction structures.
• Created and oversaw “clean team” protocols and due diligence with respect to potential corporate transactions to ensure appropriate safeguards were in place for competitively sensitive information.
• Prepared a range of distribution and pricing policies for clients, including MAP, Colgate (RPM) and authorized reseller policies. We have also worked with clients on brand enforcement programs and to identify and address unauthorized gray market sales.
• Advised pharmaceutical and life sciences clients concerning the antitrust consideration attendant to a range of collaborations, agreements and exclusivity arrangements.
• Advised startups on product design and information safeguards to mitigate potential antitrust risk, including Section 1 liability considerations.
• Create antitrust compliance programs for clients and are frequently called upon to conduct antitrust compliance training or advise on various antitrust compliance matters.
• Work with trade associations to ensure compliance with applicable antitrust laws, including preparing and implementing antitrust compliance policies, attending meetings and reviewing agendas.

Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practice Litigation and Counseling

• Wiggin and Dana is well-known as the firm with the greatest expertise in handling complex cases under Connecticut’s Little FTC Act, The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (“CUTPA”), which is the principal business litigation and consumer protection statute in the state. Indeed, many of the most significant decisions rendered by the Connecticut Supreme Court have been litigated successfully by our firm. Our colleagues Bob Langer and Kim Rinehart are co-author and contributing author, respectively, of the leading treatise on CUTPA, Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices, Business Torts and Antitrust (Vol. 12, Conn. Practice Series, Thomson Reuters). During his career both at Wiggin and Dana, and during his tenure as the Connecticut Assistant Attorney General in charge of both antitrust and consumer protection, Bob has been involved with many of the most significant CUTPA cases in the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Connecticut Appellate Court, as well as other consumer-protection related litigation, such the Lemon Law, Mobile Home Park Act, and the Home Improvement Act.  As an Assistant Attorney General, Bob drafted many of CUTPA’s key amendments.
• Our firm also litigates and counsels in many areas within the jurisdiction of both the Federal Trade Commission and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (“DCP”), as well as other state consumer protection agencies. These include the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Other areas within the jurisdiction of DCP include state statutes analogous to those within the jurisdiction of the Federal Food & Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Bureau of Weights and Measures.
• Our firm also possesses expertise in additional areas of the law within the jurisdiction of DCP. e.g., liquor, occupational licensing, on-line gaming, medical marijuana and adult cannabis.