Case Caption: In re Loestrin Fe Antitrust Litigation
Docket Number: No. 1:13-md-02472, MDL No. 2472
Court: District of Rhode Island
Judge: Honorable William E. Smith
Direct Purchaser Plaintiff: Ahold USA, Inc.
Plaintiffs: Ahold USA, Inc.; Albertson's, LLC; Mary Alexander; Allied Services Division Welfare Fund; American Sales Company, LLC; CVS Pharmacy, Inc.; Melisa Chrestman; City of Providence; Electrical Workers 242 & 294 Health & Welfare Fund; Fraternal Order of Police Fort Lauderdale Lodge 31; HEB Grocery Company L.P.; Laborers International Union of North America; Denise Loy; New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. Health Benefits Fund; Painters District Council No. 30 Health & Welfare Fund; Rite-Aid Corporation; Rite-Aid Hdqtrs. Corp.; Rochester Drug Co-Operative, Inc.; Safeway, Inc.; Teamsters Local 237 Welfare Benefits Fund; The Kroger Co.; United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776; Walgreen Co.
Defendants: Actavis, Inc.; Allergan PLC; Lupin Ltd.; Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Warner Chilcott Company, Inc.; Warner Chilcott Company, LLC; Warner Chilcott Corporation; Warner Chilcott Holdings Company III, Ltd.; Warner Chilcott Laboratories Ireland Limited; Warner Chilcott Public Limited Company; Warner Chilcott Sales (US), LLC; Warner Chilcott U.S., LLC; Watson Laboratories, Inc.; Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Overview: In this pharmaceutical antitrust case, Kessler Topaz served as co-lead counsel on behalf of a class of direct purchaser plaintiffs challenging the allegedly unlawful delayed entry of generic versions of Loestrin 24 Fe, Minastrin 24 Fe, and Lo Loestrin Fe into the marketplace. Plaintiffs alleged that that Warner Chilcott used a number of unlawful strategies – fraud on the Patent and Trademark Office to procure a patent, “sham” patent litigation, and payment to a generic manufacturer to drop its patent challenge and stay off the market, to name a few - all with the goal to prevent the entry of less-expensive, generic competitors into the U.S. market. After several years of hard-fought litigation, the case settled shortly before trial for $120 million.