The Third Circuit today affirmed a class certification order in an antitrust case.
The case, Behrend v. Comcast Corp., No. 10-2865 (3d Cir. Aug. 23, 2011), involves claims that Comcast violated sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and that the antitrust violations allowed Comcast to overcharge Philadelphia cable subscribers.
The court's 2-1 majority opinion rejects Comcast's attacks on the district court's order recertifying the Philadelphia class under the rigorous standards the Third Circuit articulated in In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litig., 552 F.3d 305 (3d Cir. 2008). The panel rules that plaintiffs carried their burden of showing they can prove "common impact" of the antitrust violations on class members and class members' damages with class-wide evidence. The dissenting judge disagreed with the conclusion on damages but concurred on common impact.
The decision will return the case to U.S. District Judge John R. Padova.
[Note: We argued the case for the plaintiff class in January of this year.]
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