A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a class action lawsuit alleging that hotel chains and online travel companies conspired to fix the price of rooms booked online, handing a big win to a brigade of defense lawyers.
In a 36-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle in Dallas concluded that a proposed class of consumers failed to allege an industry-wide conspiracy to eliminate price competition among hotel room booking websites. The dismissal was without prejudice, so plaintiffs counsel at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro can try again with different antitrust theories. But the decision is nonetheless a big win for the defendants, including Hilton Worldwide Inc., InterContinental, Expedia Inc., Marriott International Inc., Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., Priceline.com Inc., Travelocity.com LP, Trump International Hotels Management, Orbitz Worldwide Inc., Wyndham Worldwide Corp. and Carlson Hotels Inc.
