In re ACTOS Antitrust Litigation
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:13-cv-09244
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In re ACTOS Antitrust Litigation: Magistrate Judge Aaron approved class-notice arrangements and appointments but deferred sending notice while a class-certification appeal request remains pending.
The order affects the direct-purchaser class, its appointed representatives and co-lead counsel, RG/2 Claims Administration LLC as notice administrator, and Takeda, whose requested delay was denied while the actual mailing of notice was deferred.
What happened
In re ACTOS Antitrust Litigation concerns the direct-purchaser class in an antitrust case. The plaintiffs asked the court to approve their proposed class notice, appoint a notice administrator, and formally appoint class representatives and class counsel. Takeda opposed deciding the motion before the Second Circuit addressed its request to appeal the class-certification order.
The court approved the proposed notice and appointed RG/2 Claims Administration LLC as notice administrator. It also appointed Meijer, Inc., Meijer Distribution, Inc., and Cesar Castillo LLC as class representatives, and appointed Thomas M. Sobol and Linda P. Nussbaum as co-lead counsel. But the court declined to defer its ruling on those requests while the appeal request was pending.
The court nevertheless ordered that class notice be sent only after the Second Circuit resolves the pending appeal request or appeal, unless the class-certification order is reversed or modified. The court therefore granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs’ motion. The order was signed by Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron.
The detailed version
- In re ACTOS Antitrust Litigation · No. 1:13-cv-09244
- Ronnie Abrams
- Dec. 7, 2024
Background
The direct-purchaser plaintiffs asked the court to approve the form and method of notice to the certified direct-purchaser class, appoint a notice administrator, and formally appoint class representatives and class counsel. On September 30, 2024, District Judge Ronnie Abrams had adopted a recommendation to certify the direct-purchaser class and appoint Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Nussbaum Law Group as co-lead counsel.
Takeda had filed a petition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) asking the Second Circuit for permission to appeal the class-certification order. Takeda asked the court to defer ruling on the plaintiffs’ motion until the Second Circuit decided whether to accept that appeal and, if accepted, until the appeal was resolved. The opinion states that the petition was pending when this order was issued.
Court’s Analysis
The court found that the proposed notice complied with Rule 23 and applicable case law. The notice addressed the required information for members of a class certified under Rule 23(b)(3), including the nature of the action, the class definition, class members’ exclusion rights, and the binding effect of a class judgment. The court also found that individual notice by first-class mail was the best practicable method because the class members had been identified and address information was available for confirmation and updating.
The court found that RG/2 Claims Administration LLC was qualified to serve as notice administrator. It also noted that the earlier class-certification order had found that the proposed class satisfied Rule 23’s requirements and that the proposed counsel satisfied the requirements for class counsel. Because Takeda did not oppose the requested appointments, the court granted the requests to appoint Thomas M. Sobol and Linda P. Nussbaum as co-lead counsel and Meijer, Inc., Meijer Distribution, Inc., and Cesar Castillo LLC as class representatives.
The court treated Takeda’s request to defer ruling as a request for a stay, meaning a pause in the proceedings. Rule 23(f) provides that a class-certification appeal does not automatically pause district-court proceedings. Because neither District Judge Abrams nor the Second Circuit had ordered a stay, the court declined to defer its ruling on the substance of the plaintiffs’ motion. However, relying on the practical concern that notice might need to be sent again if the class-certification order were changed, the court deferred the actual issuance of notice.
Order and Effect
The court granted in part and denied in part the direct-purchaser plaintiffs’ motion. It appointed Sobol and Nussbaum as co-lead counsel, appointed Meijer, Meijer Distribution, and Cesar Castillo LLC as representatives of the direct-purchaser class, appointed RG/2 Claims Administration LLC as notice administrator, and approved the proposed form and manner of class notice. The court ordered that notice be sent within 10 days after resolution of the pending Rule 23(f) petition and/or appeal, unless the class-certification order is reversed or modified.
This was a procedural order concerning class administration and notice. It did not decide the underlying antitrust claims.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.