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Recovery Firms Accused of Exploiting Class Members in Generic Drug Price-Fixing Case

By  |  November 12, 2025
drugs

Plaintiffs in a major antitrust lawsuit involving generic drug pricing have urged a federal judge to intervene against what they describe as deceptive marketing efforts by certain claims recovery firms. According to Reuters, the plaintiffs allege that these firms have been misleading class members with false promises and misinformation about settlement payouts.

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    In a filing submitted on Tuesday to U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, lawyers representing consumers, employers, and insurers claimed that more than a dozen individuals and entities have attempted to mislead class members through offers of assistance in exchange for a portion of potential settlements. The pending settlements in the sweeping litigation are valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, but the claims process for class members has not yet commenced.

    “These solicitations are rife with false and misleading statements,” said Roberta Liebenberg, one of the lead attorneys for the end-payer plaintiffs, in a court filing. According to Reuters, Liebenberg informed the court that class members will be able to file their claims at no cost once the official process begins.

    The plaintiffs’ lawyers reported that misleading emails, websites, and social media posts have circulated, some of which reference a fictitious “$600 billion” fund. The claims were brought before Judge Rufe, who oversees the long-running multidistrict litigation accusing dozens of pharmaceutical companies of conspiring to fix prices on generic drugs — a scheme that plaintiffs say inflated prices across the market.

    Read more: Judge Rules States’ Price-Fixing Case Against Drugmakers Can Proceed

    Per Reuters, several drugmakers have agreed to settle their portions of the case, including Swiss pharmaceutical company Sandoz, which earlier this year said it would pay $275 million to resolve its claims. Sandoz, while agreeing to the settlement, has denied any wrongdoing and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Large-scale class action settlements often attract third-party firms seeking to capitalize on payouts by offering so-called “expedited recovery” services. Courts are frequently called upon to address deceptive or confusing marketing tied to such settlements. In this instance, plaintiffs say the unauthorized campaigns could result in class members forfeiting rights or paying unnecessary fees for help they do not require.

    According to Reuters, the plaintiffs are requesting that Judge Rufe impose corrective actions, including measures that would allow class members to cancel any contracts signed with such firms. They also want the court to require disclosure of all existing solicitations and to mandate pre-approval for future communications.

    “The integrity of the settlement process is at stake,” Liebenberg told the court.

    The case is titled In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:16-md-02724-CMR.

    Source: Reuters