ANTITRUST & UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES CLASS ACTION LAW

Ghalchi & Associates has also been extensively engaged in antitrust and unfair business practices/unfair competition law since 1997.  We represent Plaintiffs and litigate, on class-wide bases and in representative actions on behalf of the general public, against large corporations – frequently with an “industry encompassing” approach.  (We do not represent clients solely on individual type bases, except in very few and special cases).

Our practice often includes causes of action for antitrust/unfair competition law/unfair business practices in areas of class action litigation spanning broad and diverse range of industries and fields, such as, for example, those encompassing environmental law, privacy law, labor law, insurance law, and false and deceptive advertising and fraudulent business practices law (consumer law).  Mr. Ghalchi’s success in complex unfair competition law class actions also is partly predicated on his strong background in the sciences. 

Ghalchi & Associates also offers its class action services in the area of market benchmark manipulation in the financial sector.  Examples of offered services include class action representation of consumers and institutions harmed by manipulations of the Libor, Euribor, Forex, and commodities markets.

Though Ghalchi & Associates’ antitrust/unfair competition law class action practice is not limited to any particular issue or industry, some examples of past industries and areas of practice include the insurance sector, food/dietary supplement sector, financial services sector, oil/energy sector, hospitality/hoteling/tourism sector, tobacco sector, and pharmaceutical/medical device sector.  Some particular examples include:

·      Claims against insurance companies for alleged improper charging of higher premiums and/or rates.  Mr. Ghalchi has prosecuted class actions and representative actions on behalf of the general public against large insurance companies for allegedly charging higher premiums and/or rates to policyholders for lack or lapse of prior automobile insurance coverage in alleged violation of California’s Proposition 103 and the Insurance Code.

·      Exposure of consumers to mislabeled and deceptive food products.  Similarly, Mr. Ghalchi has prosecuted representative actions on behalf of the general public against over a hundred large business defendants for alleged violations of consumer, food, health and safety laws involving the marketing and sale to the public of falsely advertised and deceptively labeled food products.

·      Claims against banking/financial institutions for alleged improper sharing or use of customers’ personal information for marketing purposes.  Mr. Ghalchi also greatly helped establish the modern field of private class action privacy law by successfully representing many millions of consumers – on class-wide bases and in a representative capacity on behalf of the general public – against many of the largest financial and banking institutions for allegedly improperly sharing or using their customers’ personal information for marketing purposes.  Some of these actions wherein Mr. Ghalchi has served as plaintiffs’ counsel/co-counsel or class counsel included, for example, class actions against Union Bank of California, California Federal Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, American Express, Household Credit Services, Wells Fargo Bank, CitiBank, Bank of America, Capital One Bank, MBNA America Bank, FleetBoston Financial Corporation, Discover Bank, G.E. Capital Consumer Financial Services, and Washington Mutual Bank.

·      Claims against Big Oil for Alleged Groundwater Contamination.  Mr. Ghalchi has also prosecuted complex representative actions on behalf of the general public alleging that Mobil Exxon, ARCO, Unocal and Chevron, along with other oil companies, “knowingly” allowed gasoline components – benzene, toluene and lead – to leak for years into California’s subterranean water supplies suitable for human consumption, in violation of Proposition 65 and Business & Professions Code §17200.

·      Exposures to carcinogens and reproductive toxins in first and second hand tobacco smoke.  Mr. Ghalchi has also prosecuted numerous representative actions on behalf of the general public against hundreds of large corporate defendants and sites for alleged violations of environmental and consumer laws (under, e.g., California’s Proposition 65 and the California Unfair Competition Law) involving alleged exposure of members of the public to first and second hand tobacco smoke.  Some of these large business defendants and sites included, for example, the hospitality/hoteling, tourism and cigar industries.

·      Exposures to illegal pesticides and contaminants in food products and dietary supplements.  In addition, Mr. Ghalchi has prosecuted representative actions on behalf of the general public against large business defendants for alleged violations of environmental and consumer laws involving alleged exposure of members of the public to illegal and banned harmful pesticides and contaminants in food products and dietary supplements.

·      Exposures to carcinogens and reproductive toxins in medical devices.  Mr. Ghalchi has similarly prosecuted representative actions on behalf of the general public against large corporate defendants for alleged violations of environmental and consumer laws involving alleged exposure of members of the public to carcinogens and reproductive toxins in medical devices.

·      Claims for alleged violations of labor laws.  Mr. Ghalchi has also prosecuted class and representative claims on behalf of the general public for alleged violations of labor/wage & hour laws, for unpaid overtime compensation (in the insurance sector).

These actions have resulted in injunctive relief on numerous occasions, have conferred over $100 Million in free services, products, benefits and cash on class member consumers, and have resulted in contributions of nearly $26 Million in cash to numerous and varied laudable non-profit organizations and charities, such as, for example:

  • Privacy foundations
  • Universities and colleges (for example, contributions to the U.C. Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT) and Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic)
  • Charities that assist the poverty-stricken, needy and homeless
  • Non-profits that alleviate human suffering in emergencies and disasters
  • Public schools
  • Charities that strive to reduce death and sickness caused by disease
  • Organizations that provide legal aid and public advocacy
  • Environmental funds and non-profits
  • Organizations that promote tolerance
  • Educational funds
  • Consumer advocacy organizations
  • Public interest research groups
  • Associations for the mentally handicapped
  • Organizations that promote children’s rights
  • And many more.