Companies still generally view the legal department as a cost center. But lawyers at The Home Depot Inc. and The Coca-Cola Co. are changing that perception by bringing money in the door through aggressive litigating in antitrust cases.
When evidence comes to light that a company is fixing prices, plaintiffs lawyers often bring price-fixing class actions on behalf of companies that buy massive amounts of goods—so-called direct purchasers (consumers are known as “indirect purchasers”). To up their chances of collecting more in damages, Coca-Cola and Home Depot have been opting out of these direct purchaser class actions and bringing their own lawsuits. Because many of these cases involve suppliers or vendors that sell large amounts of goods, corporate plaintiffs such as Home Depot and Coca-Cola can claw back big sums of money.
