Susman Godfrey secured a precedential victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which reversed the dismissal of a proposed antitrust class action alleging that Atlantic City casino hotels unlawfully fixed the prices of hotel rooms through a shared AI-powered pricing platform. Read the decision here.
In a unanimous opinion, the Third Circuit held that consumers plausibly alleged that the casinos and their software provider, Cendyn Group, conspired to fix hotel room prices in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act by using a common algorithm that incorporated competitors’ non-public pricing and occupancy data. The decision revives the case and returns it to the District of New Jersey for further proceedings.
The opinion is the first federal appellate decision to address horizontal conspiracy claims alleging unlawful price-fixing facilitated by AI, recognizing that collusion in today’s marketplace often will occur through shared AI tools relying on non-public data, rather than traditional back-room deals among competitors.
“We are encouraged that the first federal court of appeals to address horizontal conspiracy claims like ours rightly held that the use of AI-powered pricing does not immunize anticompetitive conduct from the Sherman Act’s reach. Antitrust law was always meant to adapt to the times and to protect consumers. Our clients look forward to having their day in court, and holding these defendants accountable,” said associate Zach Fields who, in Susman Godfrey style, argued the appeal on behalf of the plaintiffs, facing off against a seasoned partner from opposing counsel and swiftly securing this landmark victory. “On a personal note, I’m incredibly grateful to our clients, Susman Godfrey, Burns Charest, and all class counsel for trusting a second-year associate to argue this important appeal.”
The Susman Godfrey team also includes co-managing partner Vineet Bhatia and partners Steve Morrissey and Shawn Raymond. They are joined by Christopher Cormier of Burns Charest and lawyers from Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador LLP and Hausfeld LLP.
The team was named to Law360‘s “Legal Lions” feature for this win. In addition, they were named first Runners Up in ALM’s “Litigator of the Week Runner-Up and Shout Outs.” Read additional media coverage in BloombergLaw, MLex, GamblingNews, Law360 and Global Competition Review.
The case is Cornish-Adebiyi, et al. v. Caesars’ Entertainment, Inc., et al. case number 24-3006 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
