Priceline.com and Booking.com

Locke Lord secured a ruling for clients Priceline.com and Booking.com in a multi-district class action price-fixing case against all of the major online travel reservation companies and most of the major hotel chains. The plaintiffs were consumers who booked hotel rooms using online travel reservation services. They alleged that the defendants violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by entering into a conspiracy to fix, maintain and stabilize the rates for hotel rooms that are booked using online travel reservation websites.

In February, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Judge Jane Boyle) issued an Order dismissing the plaintiffs' claims based on the finding that they had not adequately alleged the essential elements of the antitrust claims, but gave the plaintiffs an opportunity to file an amended complaint.

On Oct. 28, Judge Boyle found the amended complaints made the same insupportable claims as the original and dismissed the suit with prejudice. The Locke Lord lawyers representing Priceline.com and Booking.com in this litigation matter were Brad Weber and Seth Roberts.
Posted October 29, 2014