Scott Grzenczyk

Scott Grzenczyk, a partner at Girard Sharp LLP, and his specialty in class certification, a crucial phase in many of these cases, has earned him a national reputation in the antitrust bar. He is currently also vice-chair of the American Bar Association’s antitrust section’s civil practice and procedure committee.

Grzenczyk has played significant roles in major litigations, including being a key member of the co-lead counsel team in the In re California Gasoline Spot Market Antitrust Litigation. This ongoing case alleges that oil traders manipulated the price of gasoline in California.

Another of the critical cases he has been involved in is the In re Restasis Antitrust Litigation. The class certification in this case, argued in the context of the First Circuit’s decision in In re Asacol Antitrust Litigation, has been influential in other decisions both within and outside the Second Circuit, particularly regarding pharmaceutical products.

Grzenczyk has faced significant challenges in his career, notably in managing parallel litigations involving private plaintiffs and government enforcers, such as State Attorneys General and the Department of Justice. In addition to the gasoline market litigation, he has been a part of leadership teams, including In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation and In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Antitrust Litigation.

“The need to carefully coordinate discovery and strategic decisions among stakeholders operating under different statutes and case schedules and sometimes with differing theories of recovery, but that are nonetheless representing often overlapping groups, presents unique challenges,” Grzenczyk said. “Close coordination benefits all parties by maximizing resources and reducing the potential for conflicting positions, but requires a tremendous amount of work and strategic planning.”

Identifying a trend, Grzenczyk said a frequent issue in class certification is the extent to which the presence of uninjured class members is an impediment to certification.

“Many decisions have confirmed that a class may be certified even if it contains uninjured persons,” he said. “On the other end of the spectrum, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in TransUnion, there has been an increased emphasis on ensuring that only injured parties receive payments from a judgment or settlement. It seems inevitable that the potential tension between these two concepts will come to a head in the coming years.”