1-800 Contacts is hoping that a federal judge will dismiss a class-action lawsuit that claims that they violated antitrust laws in their search ad practices. The company had trademarks on their brand name, and would sue or threaten to sue any company that was trying to run ads triggered by a search for 1-800 Contacts. From 2004 through 2013, they did this to 15 or more companies.
They are claiming that their actions did not result in search ad prices going higher than they otherwise would have, or higher than the market could support. In addition, they say that the statute of limitations has expired on this, and therefore the case should be dismissed. They also claim that the consumers in the class action lawsuit did not put forward sufficient facts that would show that any settlement agreements caused prices to increase above a competitive level.
As of now, the federal judge has not said whether or not the lawsuit will be dismissed or allowed to move forward.
