Daily Briefs

Dykema wins Global Competition Review’s Litigation of the Year


A case that Dykema was involved in was named the winner of the Litigation of the Year – Cartel Defence at the Global Competition Review’s 9th annual GCR Awards. The award recognizes the decision from the Eastern District of Michigan denying class certification in Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation in which Dykema served as Counsel to AB SKF, a leading Swedish-based bearings technology provider.

Dykema attorneys involved in the matter include Howard Iwrey, Cale Johnson, Cody Rockey and Brian Moore. The award-winning decision by the court was the first certification ruling in long-running multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving 44 separate lead cases alleging price-fixing and bid-rigging against dozens of Tier 1 suppliers of 44 separate parts.

In its ruling, the court ruled first that the direct purchase plaintiffs (aftermarket distributors of bearings impacted by one type of alleged conspiracy) failed to demonstrate that their claims were typical of other putative class members (which included OEMs allegedly impacted by other types of conspiracies) or that they could adequately represent the interest of all putative class members.

The court also ruled that the plaintiffs failed to satisfy the Rule 23(b) predominance requirement (that questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members). The court (following the Supreme Court’s decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend) reasoned that the plaintiffs failed to isolate the effects of a given conspiratorial effort upon all or a significant portion of the proposed class, rejecting experts’ regression analyses and testimony about the overall nature and characteristics of the market for bearings.

GCR editors selected the finalists in each category, and readers voted on the winners. The awards were presented at a ceremony on March 26 in Washington, D.C.

 

SBM Paralegal and?Legal Assistants Section to hold annual conference May 31


The State Bar of Michigan Paralegal and Legal Assistants Section is holding its 2019 Annual Conference and Day of Education on May 31 at The Henry, Autograph Collection, 300 Town Center Drive in Dearborn.

Speakers include Court of Appeals Judge Amy Ronayne Krause, Genesee Circuit Court Judge Joseph Farah, and other prominent Michigan attorneys and professionals. Topics will cover multiple areas of law, such as the rules of evidence, legal writing, the appeals process, ethics rules, skills needed to successfully interview witnesses and clients, stress management, and more.

For more details and registration, visit the website at http://connect. michbar.org/paralegal/home. For more information, contact Marianne Delaney at mdelane6@ford.com, 313-322-9379 or Lizzy Cary at lizzy @cndefenders.com, 517-885-3305.


 

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