Antitrust Litigation

The firm has significant experience in litigating both civil and criminal antitrust cases. It has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil antitrust cases and representing both individuals and companies accused of criminal antitrust violations. In addition to litigating civil and criminal antitrust cases, one of the firm's senior members, David L. Belt, has taught antitrust law as a member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Connecticut School of Law and of the Quinnipiac University School of Law. He has also taught seminars on antitrust law to other lawyers and has written an article on interpreting the Connecticut Antitrust Act, which, like the federal antitrust laws, provides that a successful plaintiff can be awarded treble damages and attorney's fees if it establishes a violation of the act. Another senior member of the firm, Ira B. Grudberg, has tried both civil and criminal antitrust cases. Both Mr. Grudberg and Mr. Belt were among the lawyers representing SCM Corporation through the trial and appeal of a major civil antitrust case against Xerox Corporation alleging that Xerox Corporation had monopolized plain paper office copying, a case involving a jury trial lasting over a year.

The significant antitrust cases in which the firm has been involved include:

• Representing a Fortune 500 company in action against Xerox Corporation alleging monopolization of paper office copying; jury verdict of $37.3 million before trebling after 14 month trial; dismissed by court on legal issue of first impression after trial.
   
• Representing a Fortune 500 company in defense of criminal antitrust case alleging conspiracy to rig road tar bids to municipalities.
   
• Representing an owner of property who sought to develop it for use as a regional mall in an antitrust action against owners of existing shopping centers for allegedly conspiring to monopolize through the use of sham zoning appeals to block the competitor's development.
   
• Representing a trash hauler in successful defense of federal criminal prosecution alleging a conspiracy to fix prices.
   
• Representing a scrap paper supplier in an action by a purchaser of recycled paper alleging a conspiracy among scrap paper suppliers to bribe purchasing weight of paper board manufacturer.
   
• Representing a defendant refuse hauler in antitrust action brought by the State of Connecticut alleging a conspiracy to fix prices.
   
• Representing an installer of energy savings lighting systems in an action by former employees and an alleged potential competitor alleging attempt to monopolize by excluding others from access to public utility's small business conservation program.
   
• Representing an association of hospital human resources professionals in a Department of Justice investigation into possible antitrust violations arising from the exchange of wage information.
   
• Representing a manufacturer of fire suppression equipment in action alleging breach of a distributorship agreement and an attempt to monopolize the market for the sale of fire suppression equipment.
   

Among the companies the firm has represented in antitrust litigation are: SCM Corporation (New York, NY), Koppers Company (Pittsburgh, PA) and New England Energy Management, Inc. (New Milford, CT). Among the reported decisions in antitrust cases in which the firm has been involved are: North American Energy Systems, LLC v. New England Energy Management, Inc., 269 F. Supp. 2d 12 (D. Conn. 2002); Federal Paper Board Company v. Amata, 693 F. Supp. 1376 (D. Conn. 1988); SCM Corp. v. Xerox Corp., 463 F.Supp. 983 (D. Conn. 1978), remanded, 599 F.2d 32 (2d Cir. 19979), on remand, 474 F. Supp. 589 (D. Conn. 1979), aff'd, 645 F.2d 1195 (2d Cir. 1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 1016 (1982).