Steven F. Benz

Steven Benz represents corporations as plaintiffs in antitrust, unfair competition, class action, and complex commercial cases in federal and state courts in the United States and in matters relating to the abuse of dominance and cartels in the European Union.  He has more than thirty years of litigation and counseling experience and has served as counsel of record in more than 140 litigated cases, trials, and appeals.  

Mr. Benz is a frequent speaker at conferences on competition law and complex civil litigation topics.  Who's Who Legal named Mr. Benz a Global Leader in their Competition - Plaintiff 2020 analysis and reports that he is a "top-drawer competition plaintiff lawyer, well versed at representing corporations in complex antitrust and unfair competition claims."  In 2017 he was honored with the “Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice” award by the American Antitrust Institute.

As a partner at the firm, Mr. Benz has prosecuted leading-edge cases involving in part the intersection of competition law and intellectual property rights, including monopolization, price fixing, and class actions under federal and state law; direct and indirect purchaser claims under state antitrust and unfair competition laws; and breach of contract, fraudulent transfer and deceptive trade practices litigation.

Mr. Benz currently represents Veeva Systems Inc. in antitrust claims against IQVIA Incorporated and IMS Software Services Ltd. in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. IQVIA Inc., et al. v. Veeva Systems Inc. (No. 2:17- cv-00177) (D.N.J.) and Veeva Systems Inc. v. IQVIA Inc., et al. (No. 2:19-cv-18558) (D.N.J.). Veeva is alleging that IQVIA has abused monopoly power as the dominant provider of data products for life sciences companies to prevent the parties’ mutual companies from using Veeva data products and MDM, CRM, and commercial data warehouse software solutions. Veeva is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages exceeding $200 million.

Mr. Benz was also co-lead counsel and represented the Dial Corporation, Henkel Consumer Goods, Inc., Kraft Heinz Foods Company, H.J. Heinz Company, L.P., Foster Poultry Farms, Smithfield Foods, Inc., HP Hood, LLC, and BEF Foods, Inc. in The Dial Corporation, et al. v. News Corporation, et al. (No. 13-CV-06802) (S.D.N.Y), a Sherman Act monopolization case involving third-party in-store promotions. In 2016, on the first day of trial, he secured a settlement of $250 million and significant injunctive relief for his clients and the certified class of 699 CPG (consumer product goods) companies.  In approving the settlement, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lauded Steve as being among the “finest antitrust lawyers in the nation,” saying that the settlement “represents an outstanding result.” The American Antitrust Institute recognized this settlement as an “outstanding litigation achievement in private law practice.”

Mr. Benz also currently represents:

• a corporate client and the certified direct purchaser class in MDL No. 1917, In Re: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:07-cv-05944-JST (N.D. Cal.) (Judge Tigar).

He also represented:

• the trustee for Ritz Camera & Image, LLC, CPM Electronics Inc., and E.S.E Electronics, Inc. and the certified direct purchaser class in Alfred T. Guliano, et al. v. SanDisk Corporation, Case No. CV 10-02787-SBA (N.D. Cal.) (Judge Armstrong), in a Walker Process (fraud on the Patent and Trademark Office) Sherman Act monopolization case; and
• a corporate client and the direct purchaser class in MDL No. 2420, In Re: Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 4:13-md-02420-YGR (N.D. Cal.) (Judge Rogers).

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Iowa
• Maryland
• Minnesota

Court Admissions

• Supreme Court of the United States
• United States District Court for the District of Columbia
• United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• United States Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
• United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
• Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

Noteworthy Representations

In 2012, Mr. Benz achieved a significant ruling from the Federal Circuit in Ritz Camera & Image, LLC v. SanDisk Corporation, 700 F.3d 503 (Fed. Cir. 2012).  The Federal Circuit held that direct purchasers have standing to pursue Walker Process (fraud on the Patent and Trademark Office) antitrust claims.  Supporting amicus briefs were submitted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, more than thirty state Attorneys General, and more than thirty law professors.

Mr. Benz and his partners were retained by AT&T Inc. to serve as lead trial counsel in the Department of Justice lawsuit to enjoin the merger of AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA, Inc., United States of America v. AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA, Inc., and Deutsche Telekom AG, Civil No. 11-01560 (ESH) (D.D.C.).

Mr. Benz was one of the lead attorneys in Conwood Co. v. United States Tobacco Co., 290 F.3d 768 (6th Cir. 2002), in which the firm won the largest Sherman Act § 2 damages award in history for our client.  A jury awarded a judgment (after trebling) of $1.05 billion.  This verdict was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit in 2002.  Id.

Speaking Engagements, Conferences & Publications

Speaking Engagements

Panelist, "Digital Ecosystems: App Stores, Customers & the Supreme Court," GCR Live Antitrust in the Digital Economy (May 22, 2019)

Speaker, “Monetizing Your Company’s Litigation Assets: Corporate Class Action, Opt-Out, and Private Litigation,” Chief Litigation Officer Summit 2017 (September 24-26, 2017)

Panelist, “Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation, & The Settlement of Complex Class Actions,” University of Miami School of Law Class Action & Complex Litigation Forum (December 8, 2017)

Conferences

International Referral Global Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany (September 9-12, 2017)

Antitrust Litigation Forum, Nashville, Tennessee (October 22-24, 2017)

Antitrust Litigation Forum, Scottsdale, Arizona (October 21-23, 2018)

Antitrust Litigation Forum, Charleston, South Carolina (October 27-30, 2019)

Publications

Below-Cost Sales and the Buying of Market Share, 42 Stanford Law Review 695 (1990)

Soviet Nationalities Policies and the Soviet Germans, 16 Heritage Review 11 (1986)

Trade Liberalization and the Global Service Economy, 19 Journal of World Trade Law 95 (1985)