On Tuesday, to the relief of the direct purchaser plaintiffs and their lawyers at Boies, Schiller & Flexner; Susman Godfrey; and Hausfeld LLP, a federal judge in Brooklyn rejected the companies’ defense. In a 72-page decision, Judge Brian Cogan concluded that Chinese law “did not compel [the defendants'] illegal conduct” and faulted the Chinese government for cooking up a “post-hoc attempt to shield” the companies.
“Although the Ministry encouraged defendants’ cartel and now fervently desires that defendants be dismissed from this suit, those policy preferences do not establish that Chinese law ‘required’ defendants to follow their anti-competitive predilections,” Judge Cogan wrote.
