Overview

Peggy J. Wedgworth is a Senior Partner at Milberg and Chair of the Antitrust Practice Group. She is also Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in New York, New York since 2015.

Ms. Wedgworth started her career as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York. Since leaving the public sector, she has represented victims in antitrust, securities, commodities, and whistleblower matters.

Ms. Wedgworth currently serves as secretary and trustee of the National Civil Justice Institute (NCJI), a think tank dedicated to the preservation of the civil justice system and regularly serves as a moderator in the annual Forum for State Appellate Court Judges.

She is a member of the bars of New York and the U.S. Supreme Court, and regularly speaks on topics relating to antitrust litigation, multi-district litigation, class action and consumer matters. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Antitrust Committee, where she has served as both a speaker and panelist. She is a member of the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws (COSAL) and a member of the American Association of Justice (AAJ).

She has authored articles that can be found in several publications, most recently in the December 2019 issue of Trial magazine entitled, Challenging “Attorneys’ Eyes Only” and Improper Categorical Privilege Logs. She regularly serves as a judge in both college and law school mock trial competitions.

Ms. Wedgworth received a B.A. degree in Foreign Language and International Business from Auburn University, and a J.D. degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Notable Cases and Leadership Roles

Ms. Wedgworth currently serves:

• As lead class counsel on behalf of a nationwide class of auto dealerships in a major antitrust MDL against the two leading providers of auto dealer management systems, CDK Global, LLC and The Reynolds & Reynolds Company, In re Dealer Management Systems Antitrust Litigation, 18-cv-00864 (N.D. Ill.) (MDL No. 2687) – settlement with defendant Reynolds for $29.5 million
• On the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee of In re Google Play Consumer Antitrust Litigation, 20-cv-05761(N.D. Cal.) (MDL No. 2687) – representing consumers in a class action lawsuit alleging Google unlawfully limited competition by forcing Android users to use the Google Play app store and levying a supra-competitive fee on purchases
• On the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee of In re Deere & Company Repair Services Antitrust Litigation, 3:22-cv-50188 (N.D. Ill.) (MDL No. 3030) – alleging defendant monopolizes the repair service market for John Deere brand agricultural equipment and prevents farmers from repairing their own equipment

Ms. Wedgworth’s current cases include:

• Series 17-03-615, a designated series of MSP Recovery Claims, Series LLC v. Express Scripts, 20-cv-50056 (N.D. Ill.) – representing assignor third-party payor insurance plans and a proposed class that were charged inflated prices for the drug H.P. Acthar Gel as a result of defendants’  anticompetitive practices
• In re Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies Antitrust Litigation, 19-md-02918 (N.D. Cal.) (MDL No. 2918) – representing end-users in alleging that the two largest manufacturers of hard disk drive suspension assemblies illegally conspired to fix prices
• In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, 3:15-md-2626 (M.D. Fla.)
• In re Harley-Davidson Aftermarket Parts Marketing, Sales Practices and Antitrust Litigation, 23-md-3064 (E.D. Wisc.) (MDL No. 3064) – alleging Harley-Davidson uses its monopoly power to force Harley motorcycle owners to use its compatible branded parts for repairs or risk losing warranty coverage

Ms. Wedgworth actively litigated:

• In re Initial Pub. Offering Sec. Litigation, 21-MC-92 (S.D.N.Y.) for over five years, which settled for $586 million
• In re Merck & Co. Securities Litigation, 02-cv-3185 (D.N.J.) which had a combined settlement totaling $1.062 billion
• In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1917 (N.D. Cal.), which resulted in a $542 million settlement
• In re Brand Name Prescription Drugs Antitrust Litigation, No. 94-897, 1996 WL 351180 (N.D. Ill. June 24, 1996), which resulted in a $351 million settlement
• In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litigation, 187 F.R.D. 465 (S.D.N.Y.), which resulted in a $1,027,000,000 settlement
• In re Microsoft Litigation, MDL 1332 (D. Md.) – consolidated class actions alleging long term unlawful maintenance of a monopoly and other anticompetitive conduct by Microsoft, resulting favorable partial settlements

Ms. Wedgworth has actively litigated numerous Commodities Exchange Act cases on behalf of future market investors including:

• In re Soybean Futures Litigation, No. 89-7009 (N.D. Ill.) – $21,500,000 class settlement providing claiming class members/soybean futures traders a full recovery under plaintiffs’ expert’s formula)
• In re Sumitomo Copper Litigation, 74 F. Supp. 2d 393, 395 (S.D.N.Y.) – “The recovery is the largest class action recovery in the 75 plus year history of the Commodity Exchange Act.”
• Kohen v. Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC, No. 05-4681 (N.D. Ill.) – certified class of treasury bond futures purchasers alleging manipulation of the futures market
• Leider v. Ralfe, No. 01-3137 (D.N.J.) – alleging price-fixing and monopolization in the diamond market by DeBeers resulting in a settlement of $250,000,000 and extensive injunctive relief
• In re Natural Gas Commodities Litigation, 03-6186 (S.D.N.Y.) – $101 million settlement
• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Hiott, 129 So. 3d 473 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2014) – won a jury trial against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a wrongful death tobacco case in Florida state court