John Chung

Antitrust Cartels, Class Actions, and Trials

• Co-lead counsel for Samsung Bioepis in the Humira Antitrust Litigation, securing a unanimous victory in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of all claims. The Seventh Circuit's landmark decision, which addressed novel claims relating to the applicability of Actavis to biologics and biosimilars, rejected class plaintiffs' theory that multiple early and global entry settlements with no payments could constitute anticompetitive "pay for delay."
• Trial counsel for AbbVie (and predecessor companies Allergan and Forest Laboratories) in the Namenda Antitrust Litigation. John worked on the class certification briefing that resulted in the removal of hard switch, or product hopping, claims, as well as claims asserted by consumers, from the proposed class. In particular, John took a lead role in motions against plaintiffs' damages experts, exposing significant vulnerabilities in plaintiffs' claimed damages. John also acted as co-lead counsel for Merz Pharmaceuticals in the same set of cases.
• Lead counsel for Furukawa in the Wire Harness Cases in the Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation. John led the team in litigation against the direct purchaser plaintiffs, opt-out plaintiffs, and state attorneys general. In particular, John secured the dismissal of all claims against Furukawa brought by the Mississippi Attorney General, which was affirmed in a ground-breaking decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court in State ex rel. Fitch v. Yazaki, et al., 294 So. 3d 1178 (Miss. 2020).
• Trial counsel for Toshiba in a six-week jury trial in 2013 brought by a national electronics retailer seeking $2.3 billion in damages. Toshiba and other manufacturers of TFT-LCD panels faced allegations that they participated in an illegal price-fixing conspiracy, and plaintiff sued under state and federal antitrust laws. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Toshiba, finding that Toshiba did not participate in the alleged conspiracy.
• Trial counsel for Toshiba in the TFT-LCD Antitrust Litigation and criminal investigation, including the six-week jury trial in 2012 against the direct purchaser plaintiffs. The jury returned a verdict that resulted in no recoverable damages to class plaintiffs who had sought nearly $2.7 billion. The defense of Toshiba in this trial won "Litigation of the Year" in the Global Competition Review Awards in 2013 and was heavily reported in the press.
• Co-lead author of the petition for writ of certiorari seeking Supreme Court review of the Department of Justice's use of grand jury subpoenas to obtain documents produced in the parallel TFT-LCD civil cases.
• Trial counsel for a multi-national pharmaceutical company in Sherman Act and Robinson-Patman Act cases brought by thousands of opt-out plaintiffs in the Eastern District of New York. Prevailed on summary judgment leading to the dismissal of plaintiffs' Robinson-Patman Act claims.

White Collar Investigations

• Lead counsel to a Kenyan company in an FCPA investigation and audit conducted by a major international conglomerate. During the audit, the counter-party suspended the supply of all products necessary for the Kenyan company to conduct its business, threatening the existence of the company. John led all aspects of both the investigation and audit, and his successful defense of the company resulted in the full resumption of business between the parties.
• Lead counsel to a Kenyan company in an investigation of allegations of bribery in Kenya with potential extraterritorial effects in the United States. John led the team in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, resulting no charges being filed against the company.
• Counsel to high-ranking corporate executives of a major European automotive manufacturer in a wide-ranging FCPA investigation.
• Counsel to a Swedish bank in an investigation conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank and the FBI into certificate of deposit trading practices.
• Counsel to global financial institutions and corporations in investigations relating to mutual fund market timing, potential violations of the FCPA, and U.S. and foreign antitrust laws.

Commercial Litigation

• Counsel to a global financial institution in the Enron Commercial Paper adversary litigation.
• Counsel to an ad hoc committee of noteholders in the Adelphia bankruptcy.
• Counsel for defendants in a poison pill case involving a retroactive shareholder rights plan.

International Arbitration

• Counsel for a leading electronic components manufacturer in an AAA arbitration brought by a major national retailer.
• Counsel for a leading satellite manufacturer in an ICC arbitration relating to an allegedly defective product and interpretation of a satellite communications contract.