© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(April 27) – A federal jury in Marshall ruled Wednesday that General Electric Company violated antitrust laws in the marketing of anesthesia machines and the market for GE anesthesia machine servicing.
After hearing more than a week of testimony and arguments, the jury ruled 8-0 that GE’s anti-competitive practices damaged 17 U.S. companies that service or refurbish GE anesthesia machines.
The jury, which deliberated about three hours, awarded the 17 companies $43 million in damages, which will be automatically trebled under federal antitrust laws.
Sam Baxter, a partner at Dallas-based McKool Smith, led the trial team for the plaintiffs, along with John Briody, Jennifer Truelove, Radu Lelutiu, James Smith, Colleen Bloss, Dana Vallera, and Dustin Howell.
Arnold & Porter represented GE.
The trial started April 18 and the jury’s verdict was issued yesterday afternoon. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III is presiding over the litigation.
“The jury worked very hard to consider the facts and weigh the arguments,” Baxter said. “The verdict was a call for fairness in business, and it was a real victory for the little guys that were brave enough to take on a major corporation.”
The plaintiffs in this case are 17 companies that service and/or refurbish GE anesthesia machines throughout the U.S: Red Lion Medical Safety, Inc., Universal Medical Services, Inc., Metropolitan Medical Services of NC, Inc., Biomedical Concepts, Anesthesia Services, Inc., Diversified Anesthesia, Paragon Service, Bay State Anesthesia, Inc., POPN, Inc., Gasmedix, LLC, West Coast Anesthesia Specialists, Inc., Gulfstream Anesthesia Service Inc. (d/b/a Doctor’s Depot), Palo Verde Biomedical Consultants, LLC, Medical Application Repair and Sales, LLC, Heartland Medical Sales & Services, LLC, SAS Acquisitions, Inc., and Trinity Biomedical Solutions, Inc.
This is a developing story. Watch for more details in The Texas Lawbook.
The case is 2:15-cv-00308-RWS Red Lion Medical Safety, Inc. et al vs. General Electric Company.
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