Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, alongside eight other law firms, has requested $20 million in fees and expenses from a Massachusetts federal court after securing a $58 million settlement with Shire PLC in an antitrust class action. The lawsuit, filed in 2016, accused Shire and co-defendant Actavis of engaging in an anticompetitive scheme to delay the release of a generic version of the ADHD drug Intuniv.

Hagens Berman $20M Antitrust Suit : Settlement Overview

The settlement follows years of complex litigation, with claims that Shire and Actavis struck a "reverse payment agreement" to delay competition in the Intuniv market. The attorneys representing the class of direct purchasers are asking for one-third of the settlement amount—just over $19 million—in addition to approximately $800,000 in litigation costs.

Case Background

The lawsuit alleged that Shire and Actavis agreed to delay the generic Intuniv until December 2014, in exchange for Shire holding back its own authorized generic during Actavis’ 180-day exclusivity period. The direct purchasers claimed that this arrangement stifled competition and kept drug prices artificially high.

The case involved extensive discovery, including over 700,000 pages of documents, and was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Actavis settled its claims in September 2020 for $19.9 million, while the settlement with Shire was finalized in 2023.

Hagens Berman $20M Antitrust Suit : Attorneys’ Request

The attorneys argued that the settlement was a "fair outcome" for class members, given the complexity of the antitrust claims. They also asked for $60,000 in service awards for the class representatives, with $50,000 designated for Meijer Inc. and $10,000 for QK Healthcare Inc., in recognition of their efforts in the litigation.