Lieff Cabraser attorneys selected as California Lawyers of the Year for antitrust case against Bayer over anticompetitive pricing of the blockbuster antibiotic drug Ciproflaxacin, sold as Cipro
California Lawyer has selected Lieff Cabraser partners Eric Fastiff, Brendan Glackin, and Dean Harvey as recipients of its 20th annual California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award. The prestigious award is given to lawyers whose work had a significant impact in the preceding year. The team was recognized for their outstanding work on In re Cipro Cases I & II, JCCP 4154/4220, a case that led the California Supreme Court to resoundingly endorse the rights of consumers to challenge pharmaceutical “pay-for-delay” settlements under California competition law.
The class action lawsuit alleged that Bayer and co-defendants conspired to restrain competition in the sale of Bayer’s blockbuster antibiotic drug Ciprofloxacin, sold as Cipro, a prescription drug needed by millions of patients in California. Between 1997 and 2003, Bayer paid its would-be generic drug competitors nearly $400 million to refrain from selling more affordable versions of Cipro. As a result, consumers were forced to pay inflated prices for the drug — frequently prescribed to treat urinary tract, prostate, abdominal, and other infections.
After both the trial and appellate courts issued verdicts in favor of the drug companies, in May 2015 the California Supreme Court reversed those decisions, affirming the rights of consumers to challenge agreements between pharmaceutical companies that prevent competition and maintain drug prices at inflated levels.
The Court held that “[p]arties illegally restrain trade when they privately agree to substitute consensual monopoly in place of potential competition.” You can learn more about the case on our Cipro Price-Fixing & Exclusionary Drug-Pricing Agreements page.
About Eric Fastiff
The chair of Lieff Cabraser’s Antitrust, Intellectual Property, and Commercial Litigation Practice Group, Eric B. Fastiff has practiced commercial litigation for the past 20 years in the drug, food, technology, finance, and natural resource industries. Eric serves as co-lead counsel in the California Cipro litigation and represents The Charles Schwab Corporation in a suit against several major banks for alleged LIBOR manipulation. Eric’s notable successes include representing businesses that purchased TFT-LCD panels and products in litigation charging that the world’s leading manufacturers conspired to fix prices, resulting in settlements totaling over $470 million. Eric also spearheaded prosecution of class action litigation against De Beers for monopolization of the rough diamond trade, resulting in a $295 million settlement.
About Brendan Glackin
A partner in Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office, Brendan Glackin represented direct purchasers of titanium dioxide in a nationwide antitrust class action lawsuit; direct purchasers of flat-panel TV screens in litigation against the world’s leading LCDs manufacturers for conspiring to fix prices; retailers in a monopolization pricing lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories charging that the company exploited the market for AIDS medicines used in conjunction with Abbott’s prescription drug Norvir, and represented employees in the high-tech workers class action alleging that major Silicon Valley firms colluded to reduce competition for workers. Glackin presently serves on the Lieff Cabraser team representing The Charles Schwab Corporation in the LIBOR manipulation suit.
About Dean Harvey
A partner in Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office, Dean represents individuals and companies in antitrust, intellectual property, and business tort litigation. Dean’s cases seek to remedy and prevent wrongful conduct by dominant firms. Dean was a leader in the High Tech Antitrust class action against Google, Apple, Intel and other tech giants for allegedly conspiring to suppress the mobility and compensation of their technical employees, and he continues the fight to ensure that employees receive competitive compensation, currently representing a doctor in a class action alleging an unlawful no-hire agreement between the medical schools of Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
About Lieff Cabraser’s Antitrust Practice Group
Lieff Cabraser is at the forefront of innovative and landmark cases promoting fair competition in the marketplace. We assist companies, governments, and consumers affected by anticompetitive conduct, assess market circumstances and determine whether and how to pursue legal action to achieve their goals. Learn more about our Antitrust Practice Group.
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