Monday, April 28, 2008 - In a rare antitrust, class damage action tried to a verdict, a jury this afternoon in Portland, Oregon awarded just under $28 million in price-overcharge damages against the Weyerhaeuser Company. 

When the verdict is entered as a judgment by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, it will be automatically tripled – or trebled – under the federal Sherman Act to $84 million.  The Court will be ruling later this year on any attorney’s fees and costs to be awarded to the businesses against Weyerhaeuser and possible injunctive relief, as well. 

The damages are to be shared by approximately 450 wood product manufacturers and distributors purchasing finished alder lumber directly from the Weyerhaeuser Northwest Hardwoods Division between the end of April 2000 and the end of 2006.

The nine-person jury found that Weyerhaeuser had monopolized the market for the sale of  finished alder lumber under the federal Sherman Act and charged the wood product manufacturers and distributors monopoly prices. 

The business class was represented by Morelock Enterprises Inc. and its principal, Scott Morelock, now of Morewood Products Inc.  Morelock and Morewood are small, family-run wood shops that have operated in southern Oregon in the town of Bend. 

The Morelock Enterprises action has been pending for four years, and this jury verdict is the culmination of a series of monopolization actions brought against Weyerhaeuser.  Prior actions were brought by Weyerhaeuser’s alder lumber competitors, whose primary claim was that Weyerhaeuser had monopolized the alder sawlogs required by its lumber competitors to compete in the downstream lumber market.

According to the class’ trial counsel, Stephen Berry,  

“This class action is also somewhat  unusual because it went to a jury verdict and the class is composed of United States businesses serving as market middlemen manufacturers of alder products or distributors, rather than consumers or end users of a product. To reach this verdict, the jury must have found that Weyerhaeuser suppressed alder lumber competition and competitors, and maintained a monopoly in the alder lumber market through anticompetitive conduct. The businesses claimed that Weyerhaeuser had monopolized the sale of alder lumber  for over a decade by –  in part –  denying them the critical input for the milling of alder lumber and alder sawlogs, as well as by a series of competitor acquisitions dramatically reducing price competition.  It is uncertain which of these claims were credited by the jury in reaching its verdict.

The class showed that Weyerhaeuser systematically charged wood product manufacturers and alder distributors monopoly prices for at least six years.  Sworn testimony was received against Weyerhaeuser from many of its alder lumber competitors, several of which have failed, and some  of Weyerhaeuser’s major alder lumber purchasers.”

The case is captioned Morelock Enterprises Inc. v. Weyerhaeuser Co, Civil No. 3:04-cv-00583-PA in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.

Classes Largely Comprised of Businesses to Receive $1.1 Billion from Microsoft in the Largest Settlement in California History

The action was designated the lead case in the consolidated California class actions against Microsoft, and the Firm was selected to serve on the Executive Committee established by the Court to manage the litigation.

In January 2003, less than one month before trial, Microsoft agreed to settle this matter, by giving as many as 13 million California businesses and consumers (who had purchased Microsoft operating systems and application software) a total of $1.1 billion in vouchers which can be used to buy desktop computer hardware or software from any vendor, including Microsoft’s rivals.

It is estimated that 80% of the class members who will share the recovery, the largest settlement in California history, are California businesses. Most of any unclaimed settlement funds will be paid to the California Department of Education for use in purchasing software, hardware, training, or service from the vendor of its choice to benefit poor schools in the State.

The settlement will be implemented in the Fall of 2006.

Businesses to Receive Approximately $40 Million in Overcharges From 3M

In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Firm obtained a favorable class certification ruling, and sponsored an expert damage report estimating that 3M had overcharged the businesses in the class in excess of $90 million.

Settlement the of the matter was reached less than thirty days before trial was to begin.

The businesses in the class are to receive approximately $40 million in damages should the settlement be finally approved by the Court.

Such approval is sought by the end of 2006. If granted, the recovery can be distributed in early 2007.