by info-services@infotechinc.com | Jun 3, 2015 | Case Updates
The sizeable bid-rigging case against two of the leading road salt producers in the U.S. settled for a reported $11.5 million on the eve of trial. The settlement resolves the case brought by the State of Ohio in 2012 on behalf of Ohio purchasers of rock salt, used to maintain roadways. Dr. McClave, with the support of the Infotech Consulting team, provided expert analysis concerning the rigging of salt bids by Morton Salt and Cargill Inc., prepared several reports in support of econometric analyses and was scheduled to testify concerning the damages suffered by Plaintiffs as a result of the bid-rigging.
State of Ohio, ex rel Mike Dewine, Attorney General of Ohio v. Cargill Inc., Cargill Deicing Technology, Morton Salt Inc., and Morton International, LLC., No. 2012 CV-03-0268
by info-services@infotechinc.com | Feb 26, 2015 | Case Updates
Plaintiffs brought suit in 2008 against urethane chemical makers accusing the manufacturers of conspiring to fix prices of polyether polyol products that are used in, among other applications, urethane foam. Infotech Consulting was hired to calculate damages to Plaintiffs due to the illegal price-fixing scheme. Four Defendants in the class action case settled before trial. However, Dow Chemical took the case to trial. Dr. McClave presented his analysis of damages arising from the price-fixing actions of the Defendants to a federal jury in Kansas City, Kansas in February, 2013. The case went to the jury and the jury reached a $400 million verdict against Dow Chemical. The $400 million verdict was trebled and U.S. District Judge, John Lungstum, entered a judgement against Dow Chemical in the amount of $1.06 billion. Dow Chemical appealed the judgment, but the appeal was denied. Dow then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court but settled with Plaintiffs for $835 million before the petition was heard. In total, the class Plaintiffs recovered nearly one billion in damages.
In re: Urethane Antitrust Litigation, No. 04-MD-1616-JWL (Kansas)
by info-services@infotechinc.com | Oct 2, 2013 | Case Updates
Infotech Consulting had the opportunity to work with indirect purchaser plaintiffs in an industry that most people never even think about when turning on their faucets. Ductile iron pipe fittings (DIPF) are used to join ductile iron pipe, valves and hydrants within a water system as well as change or direct the flow of water. DIPF are an integral part of municipal and regional water and sewer systems. The end-user plaintiffs, including municipal water works departments, accused Defendants McWane, Inc, Sigma Corporation and Star Pipe Products of violating antitrust laws by restricting trade, charging supracompetitive prices for ductile iron pipe fittings, and unlawful monopolization between 2008 and 2014. These companies controlled over 90% of the DIPF market during this period. Infotech Consulting analyzed over 4.7 million DIPF distributor transactions to calculate the pass through rate to indirect purchasers that then was used to estimate the damages incurred by the end-users as a result of the conspiratorial behavior. Dr. Jim McClave’s damage model helped the plaintiff’s secure settlements totalling over $4 million.
In Re Ductile Iron Pipe Fittings (“DIPF”) Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, Civ. No. 12-169 (US District Court for New Jersey)
by info-services@infotechinc.com | Feb 11, 2013 | Case Updates
A Florida physician was accused of entering into an illegal kickback arrangement with a pathology laboratory and of performing thousands of unnecessary procedures. Based partly on Infotech Consulting’s statistical work, the Florida physician settled with the Department of Justice in 2013 for $26.1 million. According to the Department of Justice, the settlement at the time was the largest amount ever for an individual under the False Claims Act in the Middle District of Florida and was one of the largest in U.S. history. “This settlement represents a watershed achievement in our district’s civil healthcare fraud enforcement program,” said Robert O’Neill, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. Infotech designed and selected a statistically valid random sample of Medicare claims, performed various statistical analyses on claims data, and submitted initial and rebuttal expert reports.
U.S. ex rel. Freedman v. Suarez Hoyos et al., No. 04-cv-933-T-24EAJ (M.D. Fla.)
by info-services@infotechinc.com | Dec 31, 2008 | Case Updates
After a mass termination by Guidant Corporation in August of 2004, whereby 721 Guidant employees were given notice of employment termination, a wrongful termination suit was filed. 450 of the employees terminated were age 40 or older. Their last day of work was the day on which they received their termination notice. Defendant announced at the time that the terminations were the product of a reduction in force necessitated by the reduced financial fortunes of the company.
Infotech Consulting was retained to perform statistical analyses relating to the reduction in force (RIFs) applied by the Defendants during the 2003-2005 time period. Specifically, Infotech Consulting examined whether employees in the protected age group (40 and over) were at significantly greater risk of termination during the RIFs. In each analysis, the protected age group class was disproportionately affected by the RIF at highly statistically significant levels. This analysis was a significant contributing factor in the settlement of the case.
In re: Joseph Pagliolo, et al. v. Guidant Corporation, et al (2008)
“Your work on this case was invaluable … There is no question that it was well done, accurate and impressively presented.” Attorney for Plaintiff
