Labaton Sucharow LLP Secures Partial Settlement of $20 Million in In re Puerto Rican Cabotage Antitrust Litigation

NEW YORK (June 12, 2009) - Labaton Sucharow LLP announced today a $20 million partial settlement in In re Puerto Rican Cabotage Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1960 with Defendants Horizon Lines, Inc., Horizon Lines, LLC, Horizon Logistics, LLC, Horizon Lines of Puerto Rico, Inc. (“Horizon Lines”). As part of the settlement, Horizon Lines has agreed to provide substantial evidence to support Plaintiffs’ allegations against the remaining Defendants, including the cooperation of the Horizon Lines employees who pleaded guilty to antitrust violations: Gabriel Serra; R. Kevin Gill; and Gregory Glova (“Horizon Lines Employees”). They will help prosecute the case against the remaining Defendants. The action is pending before the Honorable Daniel R. Dominguez in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The proposed settlement requires Court approval.

The case is being prosecuted for the benefit of a class of purchasers of coastal water freight transportation services between the United States and Puerto Rico (“Puerto Rican cabotage”) for conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition in the market for Puerto Rican cabotage by allocating customers, rigging bids to customers, and fixing the prices of rates, surcharges and other fees charged to customers in violation of Sections 1 and 3 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 3.

Defendants include Horizon Lines and Horizon Lines employees Gabriel Serra; R. Kevin Gill; and Gregory Glova, as well as Sea Star Line, LLC, Crowley Maritime Corporation, Crowley Liner Services, Inc., Trailer Bridge, Inc., Saltchuk Resources, Inc., Peter Baci, Alexander G. Chisholm, and Leonard Shapiro.In October 2008, four former Horizon Lines and Sea Star Line executives pleaded guilty for antitrust violations in the U.S. mainland-Puerto Rico maritime trade, and one Sea Star executive pleaded guilty to destroying evidence of price-fixing, specifically by destroying computer files sought by investigators when federal agents raided the company.

Hollis Salzman, Co-Chair of Labaton Sucharow LLP’s Antitrust Practice Group stated, “The settlement with Horizon Lines is a first step toward compensating the class for overpayment based on an illegal antitrust conspiracy. Labaton Sucharow, along with Co-Counsel, will continue to vigorously prosecute the case against the remaining Defendants.”

On December 12, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico appointed Ms. Salzman as part of Plaintiffs’ Interim Co-Lead Counsel. The parties are currently briefing motions to dismiss against the remaining Defendants.

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 over 45 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 its peers. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com.

CONTACT:

Stacey Szluka
Labaton Sucharow LLP
212-907-0664