David Langer

Biography

David A. Langer is Senior Counsel in the Antitrust practice group. He concentrates his practice in complex antitrust litigation.

Mr. Langer has had a primary role in the prosecution of the following antitrust class actions: In re Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) (after 5½ years of litigation, through the close of fact and expert discovery, achieved a settlement consisting of $336 million and injunctive relief for a class of U.S. Visa and MasterCard cardholders; extraordinary settlement participation from class members drawing more than 10 million claimants in one of the largest consumer antitrust class actions); Ross and Wachsmuth v. American Express Co., et al. (S.D.N.Y.) ($49.5 million settlement achieved after more than 7 years of litigation and after summary judgment was denied); Ross, et al. v. Bank of America, N.A. (USA), et al. (S.D.N.Y.) (obtained settlements with four of the nations’ largest card issuers (Bank of America, Capital One, Chase and HSBC) to drop their arbitration clauses for their credit cards for 3.5 years, and a settlement with the non-bank defendant arbitration provider (NAF), who agreed to cease administering arbitration proceedings involving business cards for 3.5 years); and In re Linerboard Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Pa.) (helped obtain settlements of more than $200 million dollars).

Mr. Langer was one of the trial team chairs in the 5-week consolidated bench trial of arbitration antitrust claims in Ross v. American Express and Ross v. Bank of America, where the Honorable William H. Pauley, III of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, commended the “extraordinary talents of Plaintiffs’ counsel.”

Mr. Langer has also had a primary role in appellate proceedings, obtaining relief for his clients in a number of matters, including Ross, et al. v. American Express Co., et al., 547 F.3d 137 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (precluding an alleged co-conspirator from relying on the doctrine of equitable estoppel to invoke arbitration clauses imposed by its competitor co-conspirators); Ross, et al. v. Bank of America, N.A. (USA), et al., 524 F.3d 217 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (holding that antitrust plaintiffs possess Article III standing to challenge the defendants’ collusive imposition of arbitration clauses barring participation in class actions); In re Pharmacy Benefit Managers Antitrust Litig., 700 F.3d 109 (3d Cir. 2012) (finding opposing party waived the right to compel arbitration and reversing district court).

While at Vermont Law School, Mr. Langer was Managing Editor and a member of the Vermont Law Review.