Brent W. Johnson

Brent W. Johnson is a partner at Cohen Milstein and co-chair of the firm’s Antitrust practice. Mr. Johnson also leads the group’s new case investigations. He has served as Co-Lead Counsel in cases that have compensated class members hundreds of millions of dollars for claims under Sherman Act Sections 1 and 2 and state antitrust laws. He also has initiated and developed cases that have helped break new ground in antitrust law, including those on behalf of workers challenging restraints in labor markets. Under his leadership, the practice group has achieved numerous accolades, including Law360 naming Cohen Milstein as one of its five Competition Groups of the Year for 2022.

Mr. Johnson currently serves as Co-Lead Counsel in the following notable antitrust class actions:

• In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.): Mr. Johnson leads the co-lead counsel team for Cohen Milstein, representing a class of end-user consumers of broiler chicken in a litigation alleging that the defendants, who include Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods, agreed to restrict the supply of broilers, among other things, thereby raising their price to consumers. The Court has finally approved settlements with six of the defendants for a total of $181 million and the case is at the summary judgment stage against the remaining defendants. In its order on fees, the Court described co-lead counsel’s work as “exemplary.” Law360 recently cited plaintiffs’ success in Broilers in naming Cohen Milstein one of its six Class Action Groups of the Year for 2021.
• Jien v. Perdue Farms, Inc. (D. Md.): Mr. Johnson leads the co-lead counsel team for Cohen Milstein, representing a proposed class of poultry plant workers, in a suit alleging that the nation’s largest chicken and turkey producers conspired to suppress their compensation. The Court so far has preliminarily approved settlements with six defendants for $134.6 million and the case is in discovery with the remaining nearly dozen defendants.

• Brown v. JBS (D. Col.): Mr. Johnson leads the co-lead counsel team for Cohen Milstein, representing a proposed class of beef and pork workers, in a suit alleging that the nation’s largest beef and pork producers conspired to suppress their compensation.

• Yuen v. IDEXX (N.D. Cal.): Mr. Johnson leads the co-lead counsel team for Cohen Milstein, representing a proposed class of pet owners and other indirect purchasers. Plaintiffs allege that IDEXX’s anticompetitive behavior caused artificially inflated prices for inhouse point-of-care analyzers, consumables, and single-use rapid test kits that veterinary practices use to treat family pets and other companion animal patients.

Mr. Johnson’s experience and success in antitrust class actions include:

• In re Animation Workers Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.): Mr. Johnson developed this case with two other attorneys in the firm, and Cohen Milstein filed the first complaint. Cohen Milstein served as Co-Lead Counsel representing a class of animation and visual effects workers in a lawsuit alleging that the defendants, including Pixar, Lucasfilm Ltd. and DreamWorks Animation, secretly agreed not to solicit class members and to coordinate on compensation. The Court approved settlements with all of the defendants for a total of $168.5 million.
• In re Domestic Drywall Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Pa.): Mr. Johnson initiated the investigation and filed the first complaint in this case, in which Cohen Milstein served as Co-Lead Counsel for a class of direct purchasers of drywall against drywall manufacturers for price-fixing. The Court ultimately approved settlements that totaled more than $190 million. The Court commented that it had sided with Plaintiffs because of counsel’s “outstanding work,” and that Plaintiffs’ counsel had a “sophisticated and highly professional approach.” It complimented the attorneys as “highly skilled” and noted that their performance on class action issues was “imaginative.” It also stated that “Few cases with no government action, or investigation, result in class settlements as large as this one.”
• Grand Strand v. Oltrin (D. S.C.): Mr. Johnson was personally appointed Co-Lead Class Counsel and led the Cohen Milstein team in representing a class of direct purchasers of bulk bleach, including municipal water authorities and others, against that product’s manufacturers who engaged in an illegal market allocation agreement. The Court approved a settlement worth nearly all of the class’s single damages and remarked that the case had been “skillfully handled.”
• In re Urethane Antitrust Litigation (D. Kan.): Cohen Milstein served as Co-Lead Counsel on behalf of a certified class of direct purchasers of several types of chemicals who were overcharged as a result of a nationwide price-fixing and market allocation conspiracy. In the litigation, multiple defendants collectively settled for over $130 million, and a jury verdict of $1.1 billion was secured against Dow Chemical, the final defendant, in 2013. Dow ultimately settled for $835 million while the case was on appeal before the Supreme Court, bringing the total recovery to $974 million – nearly 250% of the damages found by the jury.
• The Shane Group, Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (E.D. Mich.): Cohen Milstein served as Co-Lead Counsel, representing a class of purchasers of hospital services against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for agreeing to MFN provisions in its contracts with hospitals throughout Michigan that required those hospitals to charge other insurers as much or considerably more for services provided to class members. The Court approved a settlement with BCBSM for nearly $30 million.