Juul purchasers are defending the certification of several antitrust classes before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in litigation stemming from Altria Group’s 2018 investment in Juul Labs. Plaintiffs argue that differences in purchase volumes, transaction terms, and state laws do not prevent the claims from being resolved on a classwide basis. The Ninth Circuit granted review of the class-certification orders in April.
The litigation involves three named direct purchasers, seven named indirect purchasers, and five named indirect resellers of JUUL products. In February, U.S. District Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California granted certification to the direct purchaser class and granted portions of the certification motions filed by indirect purchasers and resellers. The plaintiffs allege that an agreement between Altria and Juul restrained competition in the closed-system e-vapor market and resulted in higher prices; Altria and Juul deny the allegations and maintain that the transaction did not violate antitrust laws or produce anticompetitive effects.
The Ninth Circuit case includes separate appeals concerning the certified classes, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also urging the appeals court to reverse the multistate certification. The Chamber has argued that the district court improperly combined California substantive law with damages laws from 26 other states, while the purchasers maintain that the classes satisfy federal requirements for class actions.
