In re Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation

Summary of Pending Case:

In re Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.). The firm represents a class of plaintiff direct purchasers in a multidistrict class action alleging that defendants Netflix, Wal-Mart Stores, and Walmart.com improperly entered into an unlawful market allocation agreement that was publicly announced on May 19, 2005, and which had the effect of illegally dividing the markets for sales and online rentals of DVDs in the United States.

After the plaintiffs overcame motions to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint, Wal-Mart defendants and the plaintiffs, on August 27, 2010, reached a preliminary settlement of the lawsuit that could pay them as much as $40 million in cash or equivalents.

The district court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification on Dec. 23, 2010, and a summary judgment motion filed by the remaining defendant, Netflix, is now pending before the Northern District’s Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton.