SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– A federal judge has appointed Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, and Susman Godfrey L.L.P. to lead a class action lawsuit on behalf of indirect purchasers of telescopes against global telescope suppliers for allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to fix prices and allocate the market for telescopes. These telescope suppliers manufacture, distribute, and/or sell telescopes branded Celestron, Meade, and Sky-Watcher, among others. Indirect purchasers are consumers and/or businesses that purchased telescopes from a retailer (e.g., Amazon, Costco, telescopes.com, bestbuy.com, and others) that had purchased telescopes from a Defendant.
In November 2016, a California-based distributor and seller of telescopes, Optronic Technologies, Inc., d/b/a Orion Telescopes & Binoculars ® (“Orion”) filed a lawsuit against Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd. and its affiliates, identifying their primary competitor, Synta, for conspiring to divide the market, fix prices, and suppress competition in violation of the Sherman, Clayton, and California Cartwright Acts, as well as California’s unfair competition law. Following a six-week trial, the jury reached a verdict in favor of Orion, awarding it $16.8 million in single damages, which was trebled to $50.4 million.
The foregoing law firms have since filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers and businesses alleging that telescope purchasers paid artificially inflated prices for telescopes during the period from January 1, 2005 through the present and have thereby suffered damages as a result of the unlawful conduct unearthed in the Orion case.
If you purchased a telescope for your own use and not for resale during the period from and including January 1, 2005 through the present and would like to serve as a Class Representative, please contact us for more information.
Contact
Lin Chan
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
(415) 956-1000
lchan@lchb.com
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