Law360 and The Legal Intelligencer Report on Buchanan's Recent Class Certification Victory; News of Win Picked up by 60+ News Outlets

Buchanan's recent class action victory was the subject of two recent articles published by Law360 and The Legal Intelligencer. Additionally, the firm's press release announcing the victory was picked up by 60+ news outlets.

As reported on the front page of the September 2, 2010, edition of The Legal Intelligencer in the article, "Fed. Judge Won't Certify Class in Plastics Antitrust Case," "Nearly $47 million in settlements was struck with seven of the defendants in a suit alleging price-fixing conspiracies in the markets for plastics additives, but the four non-settling defendants have now won a ruling that effectively kills the case. … In his 42-page opinion in In re Plastics Additives Antitrust Litigation , U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis ruled that the plaintiffs cannot pursue the case as a class action because the theory of their antitrust claims is riddled with fatal flaws. … The ruling is a victory for Dow Chemical Co., Union Carbide Corp.. Rohm & Haas Co. and Arkema Inc. and illustrates how significantly the law has changed in the class certification area in the wake of the game-changing 2008 decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation."

According to a Law360 article published on the day of the ruling, Judge Davis said the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that they could show antitrust impact by evidence common to the class.

"Rather, the court finds that resolution of this element of plaintiffs' claims will require individual treatment, and class certification therefore is unsuitable," he said.

The opinion will likely be looked at as a guidepost for future courts seeking to apply the teachings of Hydrogen Peroxide at the district court level.

Howard D. Scher and Thomas P. Manning of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC in Philadelphia represented a defendant producer of plastics additives in both the District Court and the Court of Appeals.