|
|
Past Accomplishments
Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation
This consumer antitrust class action charged that the American Optometric Association and its members conspired with the three largest manufacturers of disposable contact lenses in order to preserve the eye doctors control of the sale of contact lenses. As a result of the alleged conspiracy, consumers found it difficult or impossible to buy their replacement contacts from low cost commercial providers such as 1-800 and internet mail order sellers or drug stores, which were unable to obtain lenses from the manufacturers. Instead, consumers had to buy them at inflated, non-competitive prices from their eye doctors. The defendants all settled, the last - Johnson & Johnson - only after six weeks of trial in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to providing free lenses and other benefits worth many millions of dollars to consumer class members, the manufacturers agreed that in the future they would sell their lenses to all buyers on a non-discriminatory basis.
|
