March 28, 2015
Meijer, Inc., et al. v. Warner Chilcott Holding Company III, LTD, et al.
The plaintiffs were a class of direct purchasers of the brand name prescription drug Ovcon, an oral contraceptive. They alleged that the defendants violated antitrust laws by improperly delaying the market entry of cheaper generic substitutes to Ovcon.
Econ One was retained by counsel for the plaintiffs to opine regarding class certification issues and the calculation of damages. Those issues included the likely impact of a delay in generic competition on the class members, the availability of common, class-wide economic evidence and methodologies that would demonstrate impact in the form of overcharges, and whether those overcharges could be calculated as a whole on a class-wide, aggregate basis using reliable methodologies. Jeffrey Leitzinger submitted two expert reports–one relating to class certification and the other relating to the calculation of damages. He also submitted a rebuttal report regarding his damages calculations. After Dr. Leitzinger provided deposition testimony, the class was certified and the case was settled prior to trial. Dr. Leitzinger then submitted a proposed allocation plan for damages to the court in support of the settlement. The court approved both his damages and allocation methodologies as fair and reasonable.