Antitrust Class Action & MDL Defense
Complex antitrust class actions and multidistrict litigation are among the most specialized—and most expensive—matters in all of litigation. A focused antitrust boutique with streamlined overhead and concentrated talent can now defend these cases with the same rigor as the largest firms in the country, at a materially lower cost, and without sacrificing the outcome. Bona Law was built for this work.
We defend companies in antitrust class actions and MDLs across the country. We are an antitrust-focused firm, which means this work is central to what our lawyers do. And our bench reflects that focus. The team includes former top antitrust attorneys at both AT&T and General Motors. We understand how these matters look from the client’s side of the table – because we have sat there.
Why companies choose Bona Law
- Lead-counsel MDL experience at the highest level. Our attorneys have served as lead defense counsel in landmark cartel MDLs and in current or recent federal antitrust MDLs, defending price-fixing, no-poach, monopolization, and bid-rigging claims in courts across the country.
- A deep defense bench. Our lawyers have hands-on class-action-defense experience across MDLs, direct- and indirect-purchaser classes, individual actions, and appeals.
- A trial lawyer’s mindset. We approach every case with trial in mind. That discipline sharpens strategy at every stage—and produces better outcomes, whether the matter resolves through verdict or negotiated resolution.
- Antitrust Co-Counsel. We can integrate into existing defense teams in roles from strategic advisor to lead trial counsel, and our boutique structure means our only objective is the matter in front of us.
- High quality, cost disciplined. Our model concentrates experienced talent on every matter. The result is the analytical rigor and strategic depth of the largest defense practices, delivered without the structural overhead that drives up cost without improving quality.
- In-house fluency. Several of our partners have managed antitrust exposure from inside major corporations. We understand the internal pressures clients face and know what genuinely effective outside counsel looks like.
Representative class action & MDL defense matters
- In re Turkey Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.) — Defense of Foster Farms, a processor defendant, in a nationwide turkey-processing price-fixing class action involving allegations of an industry-wide pricing conspiracy and Agri Stats data exchange.
- McWhite-York v. Foster Farms, LLC (E.D. Cal.) — Defense of Foster Farms in a proposed nationwide consumer class action arising from the 2025 recall of chicken and turkey corn dog products, with a motion to dismiss pending.
- In re Capacitors Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.) — Defense of a Japanese capacitor manufacturer in one of the most significant electronics price-fixing MDLs of the past decade, including a Rule 23(f) class-certification appeal. Bona Law defeated indirect-purchaser class certification on behalf of its client, Taitsu.
- Markson v. CRST International, Inc. (C.D. Cal.) — Defense of a national trucking company in a Section 1 “no-poach” class action alleging a conspiracy to suppress driver wages and mobility — a leading example of no-poach antitrust litigation in transportation.
- In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation (M.D. Fla.) — Defense of one of the nation’s largest online contact lens retailers in a nationwide price-fixing class-action MDL involving uniform pricing policies.
- Egg-producer price-gouging class actions (multiple federal courts) — Defense of a major egg producer in multiple class actions alleging violations of state price-gouging laws during periods of supply disruption.
- Cartel MDL defense across industries — Our lawyers have also held defense roles in landmark cartel MDLs including In re Vitamins, In re Amino Acid Lysine, In re Cathode Ray Tubes, In re Lithium Ion Batteries, In re Automotive Parts, In re Packaged Ice, In re Municipal Derivatives, In re Insurance Brokerage, In re Processed Egg Products, and In re Wholesale Electricity Antitrust Litigation.
Industries we defend
We defend companies in antitrust class actions across virtually every industry, and we are comfortable getting up to speed quickly in any market. Our experience runs particularly deep in food and agriculture, electronics and semiconductors, transportation and logistics (labor markets), consumer products, energy and utilities, and financial services — but these are examples, not limits. Companies sued in an antitrust class action want counsel who understand their industry, and our work spans a wide and growing range.
Our class action defense partners
- Jim Lerner (New York) — Director of Litigation; over three decades of antitrust litigation experience at Winston & Strawn, Dewey & LeBoeuf, and Weil Gotshal, with lead defense roles in landmark cartel MDLs across direct- and indirect-purchaser classes, individual actions, and qui tam suits.
- Pat Pascarella (Dallas) — former Chief Antitrust Counsel at AT&T and former DOJ Antitrust; defense pedigree including Twombly, linkLine, and U.S. v. Microsoft; 2026 Best Lawyers in America.
- Aaron Gott (Minneapolis) — Chief Operating Officer; lead counsel for defendants in multiple recent federal antitrust MDLs; Minnesota State Bar Antitrust Law Section Council.
- Jon Cieslak (San Diego) — nearly a decade at Cooley and a federal district-court clerkship; defended MDLs, direct- and indirect-purchaser classes, individual actions, and appeals — including In re Lithium Ion Batteries, Prosterman v. ATPCO, In re California Bail Bonds, and In re Local TV Advertising — plus criminal antitrust defense.
- Luke Hasskamp (San Diego) — antitrust, class action, and civil RICO litigator with three federal clerkships and prior experience at Robins Kaplan; part of the defense team in In re Capacitors.
- Jarod M. Bona (San Diego) — firm founder and CEO; antitrust class action defense pedigree from Gibson Dunn and DLA Piper across cartel MDLs including packaged ice, municipal derivatives, insurance brokerage, processed eggs, and wholesale electricity.
- Luis Blanquez (San Diego) — fifteen years at the European Commission’s DG-Competition Merger Task Force; part of the In re Capacitors defense and handled a Ninth Circuit Rule 23(f) class-certification appeal for an electronics manufacturer; EU and international competition.
- Joseph Trujillo (San Diego) — complex competition litigator (Sherman and Clayton Acts and California competition statutes) who prosecutes and defends across every phase of trial-court litigation; Stanford Law, a Northern District of California clerkship, and prior experience at Dechert and Orrick, with industry work spanning technology, finance, insurance, manufacturing, and energy.
Resources: antitrust class action defense
A selection of our writing on defending antitrust class actions — from the moment a complaint lands through certification, dispositive motions, and settlement. More is available on The Antitrust Attorney Blog.
If your company has been sued
Defeating and appealing class certification
- Challenging Class Action Certification and the Classic Antitrust Case of Comcast v. Behrend
- Appealing a Class Action Certification Order Under Rule 23(f)
- California Federal Court Rejects Class Certification in Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation
- What Are the Requirements for Class Certification Under Rule 23?
Procedure, jurisdiction, and early defenses
- Jurisdictional Requirements for the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA removal)
- China Agritech v. Resh: Limits on American Pipe Tolling for Class Actions
- The Elements of Antitrust Injury: A Two-Prong Test
Indirect purchasers and Illinois Brick
- Indirect Purchaser Lawsuits, Illinois Brick, and Apple v. Pepper (Part 1)
- Apple v. Pepper and the Future of Illinois Brick (Part 2)
- The Seventh Circuit’s “Co-Conspirator Exception” to Illinois Brick
Choice of law, settlements, and opt-outs
- Choice of Law, Antitrust Class Actions, and the Value of State Inaction
- Class Action Settlements, Claims, and Opt-Outs: the Payment Card Interchange Fee MDL
- Can My Business Opt Out of an Antitrust Purchaser Class Action?
- How Do I Estimate Damages for a B2B Antitrust Violation?
Practice overview
Facing an antitrust class action — or anticipating one?
We can help. Contact us.