John Bracken

Current Cases

Flint Water Crisis Litigation

On November 10, 2021, Judge Judith E. Levy of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted final approval of a landmark $626.25 million settlement resulting from the class action and individual lawsuits brought on behalf of more than 90,000 Flint residents and businesses against multiple governmental defendants, including the State of Michigan, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and individual defendants, including former Governor Rick Snyder, for their roles in re-directing toxic levels of contaminated water from the Flint River into the City’s drinking water in an effort to save money and their subsequent efforts to try to cover up the crisis.

Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors, et al.

Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors, et al. (N.D. Il.): Cohen Milstein is co-lead counsel in this certified class action, in which home sellers allege that National Association of Realtors (NAR) and many of the nation's largest real estate broker franchisors of conspiring to require home sellers to pay home buyer brokers fees – and at an inflated rate. Plaintiffs allege that the conspiracy revolves around NAR’s mandatory requirement that sellers make a buyer broker commission offer when listing their home on a multiple listing service. On March 15, 2024, NAR agreed to a landmark settlement of $418 million. If approved by the court, total settlements will exceed $684.5 million.

Mohawk Gaming Enterprises v. Scientific Games

Mohawk Gaming Enterprises v. Scientific Games, et al. (AAA/NY State Court): Cohen Milstein represents casinos that purchased/leased an automatic shuffler from Scientific Games, Bally Technologies, and Bally Gaming in a novel, certified class arbitration, alleging that the Respondents control virtually 100% of the relevant card shuffler market and maintain monopoly power through deceptive tactics such as fraudulently procuring patents and then assert those patents in sham lawsuits against competitors, thereby suppressing competition and deterring entry of new competitors, thereby allowing Respondents to set inflated prices.

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Past Cases

In re Domestic Drywall Antitrust Litigation

In re Domestic Drywall Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Pa.): Cohen Milstein was co-lead counsel in an antitrust litigation alleging that the seven major U.S. manufacturers of drywall conspired to manipulate prices. Mr. Pierson ran the case for Cohen Milstein and in 2015 took the lead for the direct purchaser plaintiffs in arguing against the defendants’ summary judgment motions (which were denied by the Court for four of the five defendants). The Court granted final approval to settlements totaling $190 million.

In re Solodyn Antitrust Litigation

In re Solodyn Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass.): We served as a member of the executive committee and Ms. Robertson played a significant role in coordinating discovery on behalf of the End-Payor Plaintiffs. The case, which settled mid-trial, resulted in a $43 million recovery for the Class.

Khoday et al v. Symantec Corp. et al.

Khoday et al. v. Symantec Corp. et al. (D. Minn.): Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a nationwide class action involving the marketing to consumers of a re-download service in conjunction with the sale of Norton software. In April 2016, the case settled in a $60 million all-cash deal a month before it was to go to trial – one of the most significant consumer settlements in years. Douglas McNamara was involved in all aspects of the case, from managing the litigation to overseeing a staff of contract attorneys to settlement discussions.

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