Marchbanks, et al. v. Comdata, et al. (Damages)

In this antitrust class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs were a class of independent truck stops that offered services primarily to class 7 and 8 (long-haul) truck drivers. The plaintiff class alleged that Comdata, the dominant issuer of proprietary fleet cards for long-haul truck drivers, entered into a scheme with the four largest national truck stop chains. The purpose and effect of the scheme was to maintain Comdata’s dominance of the fleet card market, while at the same time maintaining the largest truck stop chains’ market power in the long-haul truck fueling market. The plaintiff class also alleged that Comdata: (1) imposed several anticompetitive contractual clauses on independent truck stop owners; (2) charged class members supracompetitive transaction fees; and (3) steered trucking business away from the class members and toward its co-conspirators (the largest truck stop chains).

Econ One was retained by counsel for the plaintiffs to opine on class certification issues and to calculate damages suffered by the class members. Dr. Jeffrey Leitzinger submitted several expert reports and provided deposition testimony. The parties agreed in principle to a settlement prior to the class certification hearing. Following the settlement in principle, Econ One was retained by counsel for the plaintiffs to assist with the class member notification and settlement allocation processes.