FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 27, 2011
Labaton Sucharow LLP Secures $5.04 Million in Settlements in the Marine Products Litigations
NEW YORK (July 27, 2011) - Labaton Sucharow LLP, lead counsel, announced today partial settlements in two antitrust class actions involving marine products.
In Ace Marine Rigging & Supply, Inc. v. Virginia Harbor Services, Inc. et al., which alleges anticompetitive conduct in the foam-filled marine fenders and buoys industry, Plaintiff and the class entered into four settlements with 10 Defendants: (1) Virginia Harbor Services, Inc., Fentek Marine Systems GmbH, Robert B. Taylor and Donald Murray ($3.1 million); (2) Marine International, Inc. and John Deats ($50,000); (3) Waterman Supply Co., Inc. and Seymour Waterman ($40,000); and (4) Marine Fenders International and Gerald Thermos (for extensive cooperation), resulting in a total of $3.19 million.
In Board of Commissioners of The Port of New Orleans v. Virginia Harbor Services, Inc. et al., which alleges anticompetitive conduct in the marine pilings industry, Plaintiff and the class entered into two settlements with four Defendants: (1) Virginia Harbor Services, Inc., Robert B. Taylor and William Alan Potts ($1.85 million); and (2) Gerald Thermos (for extensive cooperation).
The two actions are pending before the Honorable George Wu in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The cases continue against the remaining Defendants.
"These are excellent results for the entities that overpaid for these marine products during the alleged multi-year conspiracy," said Gregory Asciolla, lead attorney.
The two cases are being prosecuted on behalf of proposed classes of direct purchasers of foam-filled fenders and buoys and marine pilings. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants and their co-conspirators engaged in conspiracies to unlawfully inflate the prices charged to purchase these marine products between June 1, 2000 and December 31, 2005 (foam-filled fenders and buoys conspiracy) and between January 1, 2000 and August 31, 2005 (marine pilings conspiracy) by colluding on prices to charge, rigging bids and allocating customers and markets in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1.
The United States Department of Justice's Antitrust Division ("DOJ") launched a criminal investigation into the alleged conspiracy to unlawfully rig bids and allocate markets for the sale of foam-filled fenders and buoys, to which settling Defendants Virginia Harbor Services, Taylor, Murray and Thermos pleaded guilty, paid millions in fines and served jail time. The DOJ also launched a criminal investigation into the alleged conspiracy to unlawfully rig bids and allocate markets for the sale of marine pilings, to which settling Defendants Virginia Harbor Services, Taylor and Potts pleaded guilty, paid millions in fines and served jail time. In addition, the DOJ intervened in a qui tam lawsuit brought by a whistleblower on behalf of federal government entities which alleged similar unlawful conduct under the False Claims Act, resulting in settlements with several defendants for approximately $15.4 million, including with several of the settling Defendants in the class actions.
Labaton Sucharow LLP, with offices in New York, New York and Wilmington, Delaware, is one of the country's premier law firms representing institutional investors in class action and complex securities litigation, as well as consumers and businesses in class actions seeking to recover damages for anticompetitive practices. The Firm has been a champion of investor and consumer rights for close to 50 years, seeking recovery of current losses and necessary governance reforms to protect investors and consumers. Labaton Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and peers. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com
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Jennifer Bankston
212-907-0659
jbankston@labaton.com
