Class Certification Granted in Air Cargo Antitrust Litigation

New York, NY—July 13, 2015—Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York granted the certification of a direct purchaser class, and appointed Hollis Salzman, Co-Chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Group at Robins Kaplan LLP, as Co-Lead Counsel in the closely watched In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation (MDL No. 1775). As a result of the July 10 decision, the remaining defendants in this litigation may be liable for the total amount of damages to members of the class, which includes “hundreds of thousands of claims,” according to the Court.

The decision follows Magistrate Judge Viktor V. Pohorelsky’s October 2014 opinion recommending the court certify the class, calling it “undoubtedly the superior vehicle” for resolving plaintiffs’ claims.

"After more than nine years of hard fought litigation, this ruling is a major victory for the hundreds of thousands of businesses that purchased air cargo shipments during the alleged cartel," noted Salzman. "Now that we have reached this milestone, we look forward to trying our case against the remaining defendants," she added.

To date, plaintiffs have recovered more than $1 billion in partial settlements in the ongoing antitrust litigation. Meegan Hollywood of Robins Kaplan also represents the plaintiffs.