Kevin T. Teruya

Recently, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, partner Kevin T. Teruya’s caseload has included an antitrust consumer class action against Meta Platforms, a separate class action against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and an antitrust action against the PGA Tour.

He served as co-lead counsel in a class action against Facebook, filed shortly before similar antitrust suits by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 State Attorneys General. Klein et al. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., 3:20-cv-08570 (N.D. Cal., filed Dec. 3, 2020).

Plaintiffs allege that Facebook monopolized app distribution by deceiving the market about its data practices. The case, seeking tens of billions in damages, saw the court largely denying Facebook’s motion to dismiss. Teruya’s significant involvement in this case includes deposing Facebook’s key executives and focusing on expert discovery and class certification.

“The Klein v. Meta Platforms case is significant to antitrust law because the case involves the application of established antitrust law principles to nontraditional types of products and services, such as ‘zero price’ products and services provided to consumers in exchange for their data,” he said. “The case also involves the levels of competition and compensation for data collection and use in a market affecting hundreds of millions of consumers.”

Teruya co-led with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for LIV Golf, Inc. and certain professional golfers in an antitrust action against PGA Tour, Inc. Michelson et al. v. PGA Tour, Inc., 5:22-cv-04486 (N.D. Cal., filed Aug. 3, 2022).

This case involved allegations of unlawful monopolization of the market for professional golfers’ services and promotion of elite golf events. A landmark agreement was reached between LIV and the Tour, allowing LIV golfers to reapply for Tour membership.

“The Jones v. PGA Tour case is also significant to antitrust law because the case brought widespread attention to antitrust law outside of traditional legal audiences,” Teruya said. “Everywhere I went, even at the gym and the swimming pool, people were talking about the case and the underlying dispute, as reported in the news. It was fascinating to hear how non-lawyers understood and discussed the legal issues, aside from the political and sports ones. The case also involved the first entry of a significant competitor in the golf market in a quarter of a century.”

A challenge Teruya faced in these cases was explaining the application of established antitrust principles to nontraditional products and services, including those with zero monetary price. Another challenge was articulating the legal issues in the PGA Tour case amid its political and sports dimensions.