For more than a decade, Troutman Pepper has defended two egg production industry groups against claims of an unlawful conspiracy to reduce the supply and thereby raise the price of eggs. In a 2021 antitrust trial, Troutman Pepper obtained a defense jury verdict in a case brought by 12 supermarkets that had opted out of a class action settlement previously obtained by our team. The Third Circuit affirmed the judgment entered in favor of the defendants and rejected the supermarkets’ petition for a rehearing en banc. A separate opt out lawsuit brought by a group of companies that purchased egg products was tried to a jury in the Northern District of Illinois beginning in October 2023 through December 2023. Troutman Pepper again served as lead trial counsel for the two industry groups. Although the jury returned a verdict in plaintiffs’ favor on a limited number of plaintiffs’ claim, it awarded minimal damages in comparison to plaintiffs’ request. After the jury verdict, the court requested extensive post-trial briefing as to whether judgment should be entered in defendants’ favor as a matter of law. That briefing closed in February 2024, and the motions remain pending.

The team on this matter is led by Robin P. Sumner and includes Whitney Redding, Kaitlin L. Meola, John J. Gazzola, III, Kristin M. Cuthbert, Jill Harris, Molly DiRago, Kelly M. Sharkey, Deirdre Williams, Mary Patricia Walsh, Jessica Ring, Stephen F. Conaway, Erica Place, Angela S. Catanzariti, Joanna J. Cline, Michael J. Hartman, and many others.