Rick Pfau: Selected Case Studies
Senior Economist
Class Action Cases Against Microsoft
Antitrust liability, causation, damages, and class certification for plaintiffs
An end-consumer class of individuals and businesses in California sued Microsoft for monopoly overcharges on the Windows operating system, as well as MS Word and MS Excel applications. The case was originally filed in early 1999, nearly a year before Judge Jackson…
Valassis v. News America
Antitrust liability for plaintiff
applEcon presented trial and deposition testimony that made a comprehensive, clear, and convincing case for liability for anticompetitive conduct, tortious interference, and unfair business practices, helping Valassis to a $300 million jury-decided victory at the…
Morelock Enterprises, Inc. v. Weyerhaeuser Co.
Antritust damages for plaintiff
applEcon developed and implemented two methods to calculate the overcharge to purchasers of finished alder lumber, leading the judge to certify a class of direct purchasers and the jury to award the class $28 million.
Consent to the Transfer of Control of Licenses, MediaOne Group, Inc., to AT&T Corporation
Ex Parte filing on behalf of AOL
In 1999, the FCC and other regulatory bodies were considering whether Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should have the right to access the broadband facilities of cable operators. ISPs such as AOL (before it merged with Time Warner) advocated an "open access"…
Image Technical Services (ITS) v. Kodak
Antitrust liability for plaintiffs
Plaintiffs included 17 small independent service organizations who alleged Kodak had illegally monopolized the aftermarket for maintenance services on Kodak high volume copiers and micrographics (microfilm) equipment. Plaintiffs alleged Kodak used its control of…
Compuware Corporation v. International Business Machines Corporation
Antitrust liability for plaintiff
Compuware alleged that IBM illegally used its monopoly power over mainframe hardware and certain types of mainframe software to harm competition in other mainframe software markets. Compuware had long sold software "tools" for developing, testing and managing…