Antitrust

On April 14, 2025, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California granted final approval to a $32 million settlement resolving nearly five years of litigation in the Telescope Antitrust Monopoly & Price-Fixing case. The lawsuit, brought by Lieff Cabraser and co-counsel, alleged that several global telescope suppliers engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices and allocate the market for telescopes sold in the United States.

Filed in 2020, the lawsuit accused Celestron and Chinese rival Ningbo Sunny, among others, of conspiring to “fix prices, divide the market, retaliate against competitors, mislead U.S. authorities, illegally acquire assets, and dominate the U.S. market.” According to the complaint, this long-running anticompetitive conduct resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges to telescope buyers since at least 2005.

The case was brought on behalf of indirect purchasers—consumers and businesses that bought telescopes from retailers such as Amazon, Costco, BestBuy.com, and others, which in turn sourced telescopes from the defendants. The telescope suppliers named in the lawsuit manufacture, distribute, and/or sell telescopes under brand names including Celestron, Meade, and Sky-Watcher.

As part of the settlement, the class representatives will each also receive $3,000 for their service.