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US: Judge sides with contact lens purchasers in antitrust suit

By  |  May 20, 2018

Contact lens purchasers can proceed with an antitrust lawsuit alleging that 1-800 Contacts and other online retailers wrongly agreed to limit their search ad campaigns, a judge has ruled.

The decision, issued Thursday, May 17, by US District Court Judge Tena Campbell in the Central District of Utah, stems from allegations that 1-800 Contacts and its rivals agreed to restrict the use of “1-800 Contacts” in search campaigns. Specifically, 1-800 Contacts’ rivals—including Vision Direct, Walgreens, National Vision and Luxottica—allegedly promised they wouldn’t use the term “1-800 Contacts” to trigger search ads.

National Vision agreed last year to pay US$7 million to settle the allegations, but the other companies are still fighting the lawsuit.

Full Content: Law 360

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