Antitrust Damages and Testimony by Big Data Experts
Our team provides expert economic analysis and litigation support for complex antitrust disputes across every major industry, from heavy manufacturing and financial services to high-growth healthcare and luxury consumer markets. We possess the technical expertise to handle a broad spectrum of antitrust matters, including group boycotts, monopolization claims, price-discrimination, tying and bundling arrangements, price-fixing conspiracies, horizontal and vertical restraints etc. Our work is characterized by the application of advanced econometric methods, including but-for benchmarking, stochastic forecasting, and large-scale simulation modeling, to provide empirical clarity for legal audiences.
We are also experienced in class action lawsuits, bringing precision to the quantification of damages for thousands of class members simultaneously. Our methodologies—ranging from Monte Carlo simulations to complex industrial organization frameworks—are designed to measure the statistical difference between competitive market outcomes and those resulting from anticompetitive conduct. Whether through trial testimony in federal court or pre-litigation statistical analysis used to identify market power and barriers to entry, we deliver defensible damages frameworks that withstand the highest levels of judicial scrutiny.
Check out some of our projects below:
Group Boycott Antitrust Damages - US Steel Distributors Industry
(Client: Yetter Coleman)
We worked with Prof. Stephen Magee to build a predictive damages model for the steel distributors industry in order to simulate the competitive landscape but-for the antitrust boycott. Two successful salesmen wanted to start their own business, but their competitors collectively (i.e. a group boycott) agreed to cut their supply, by using their monopsony power downstream. To capture the antitrust damages, we developed a robust lost profits model that utilized the historical financial performance of established industry branches as a "but-for" benchmark, incorporating specific variables such as initial capital reinvestment, inventory turn ratios, and industry growth rates. Utilizing risk-adjusted discount rates, we calculated the present value of lost profits over five- and ten-year horizons. Our analysis also quantified ancillary harm from breach of contract and tortious interference, providing a rigorous assessment of the financial impact caused by anticompetitive restraints and the subsequent failure of the business. The jury awarded $156 million in damages for our client MMSteel, which was upheld by the 5th Circuit Appeals Court.
Life Insurance Industry - Class Action Damages
(Client: Kasowitz LLP)
Using Monte Carlo simulations, our team has built a stochastic predictive model and forecasted the performance of equity indexed life insurance policies 100 years into the future, and calculated damages for over 40,000 class members.
We provided multiple expert reports, throughout 7 years of litigation battle, covering economic and actuarial analysis in a life insurance class action involving allegations of insurance fraud and deceptive policy illustrations. Central to our work was the sophisticated Matlab-based simulations designed to accurately model policy functions and account values. Furthermore, we exposed significant abnormalities within the defendant's own illustration software, identifying calculations that were inconsistent with the actual formulas defined in the underlying policies. By applying a discounted present value approach to long-term projections, we measured the statistical difference between what was promised to policy holders vs what was actually delivered.
Price Fixing in the Dental Equipment Distributors Industry
(Client: McKool Smith)
Our team was retained to assess damages from monopolization claims associated with the largest dental equipment distributors in the U.S., including Henry Schein and Patterson Dental. Dr. Ikizler's damages model, reinforced by two days of testimony, demonstrated how such claims impacted other distributors and equipment prices in the industry.
Monopolization in the Payment Processing Industry
(Client: Kirkland Ellis)
Our team was hired by Kirkland& Ellis, and worked along with Professor Stephen Magee and Professor Jerry Hausman to analyze the economic damages arising from the monopolization claims set forth by Pulse against VISA in the payment processing industry. Parties have eventually settled in 2024 after a decade-long litigation battle