Jason S. Hartley

For Hartley, bringing antitrust class actions on behalf of consumers and other plaintiffs is fun. It is also challenging, expensive and long-running.

“It takes a special kind of attorney to pursue these cases on a contingency basis because antitrust cases take an extremely long time to litigate,” he said. “But their importance to our clients, the classes they represent and to the health of our economy cannot be overstated.”

An extreme example of a lengthy case is the one challenging the fees banks and credit card companies assess retailers on every swipe. The parties achieved a $5.5 billion settlement in 2019, which is now on appeal. Hartley was one of the original attorneys when the case was filed almost 17 years ago and he still serves on the executive committee.

“It is a very complex price-fixing case involving the largest banks in the U.S., resulting in the largest settlement of an antitrust case in the U.S. ever,” he said. In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, 1:05-md-01740 (E.D. NY, consol’d Oct. 20, 2005).

Among other large matters, he is a co-lead counsel representing direct purchaser plaintiffs accusing the nation’s largest beef processors of artificially increasing prices. He also is co-lead counsel suing several giant chemical companies for allegedly manipulating the prices of chemicals used to make polyurethane. In yet another, he represents gas station owners accusing California’s two largest gasoline refiners of manipulating prices.

Hartley is among the plaintiffs’ attorneys suing pharmaceutical companies for working together to suppress competition and inflate prices in the generic drugs market. “It is perhaps the most complex antitrust case currently pending in the U.S., but it is being extremely well run and organized by our colleagues in Philadelphia,” he said. In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, 2:16-md-02724 (E.D. Pa., filed Aug. 5, 2016).

A smaller but long-running case — which his firm and co-lead counsel discovered, investigated and filed — settled early last year for $33 million. It alleged price fixing by three Taiwan manufacturers of aftermarket sheet metal auto parts such as hoods and fenders. All payments are in, he said, and the case was dismissed in October. Fond du Lac Bumper Exchange Inc. v. Jui Li Enterprise Co Ltd., 2:09-cv-00852 (E.D. Wisc., filed Sept. 4, 2009)

“I have a lot of fun doing what I do,” he said, also giving credit to his entire firm. “It helps when you know you’re doing good for people and can have a lucrative practice at the same time.”

— Don DeBenedictis