In re Aftermarket Filters Antitrust Litigation

In September 2008, Labaton Sucharow was appointed co-lead counsel after it filed the first lawsuit in the country on behalf of a proposed class of plaintiffs who purchased aftermarket automotive filters (oil, air, and fuel) directly from defendants, the largest manufacturers of these products.

Plaintiffs allege that defendants participated in a conspiracy to illegally fix the prices charged for aftermarket filters sold in the United States between January 1, 1999 and the present. The case is pending before the Honorable Robert W. Gettleman in the Northern District of Illinois.

Labaton Sucharow filed the case after it was exclusively provided with critical information about the conspiracy from a confidential informant. Subsequent to the Firm's filing, the Florida Attorney General commenced an action alleging substantially identical claims against defendants.

After successfully defeating defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) and Rule 56 dismissal motions in their entirety, Labaton Sucharow obtained a favorable discovery ruling from the court on the admissibility of information gleaned from taped recordings. Following this key decision, the Firm obtained nearly $18 million in settlements to resolve the entire litigation on February 22, 2013.