Michael L. McCluggage

Michael has extensive experience in antitrust litigation, government antitrust investigations, internal investigations and antitrust counseling. He has had lead roles in major antitrust litigation throughout the country including a number of antitrust lawsuits brought parallel to government investigations, brought as class actions, and comprising multi-district litigation. He has litigated a wide spectrum of substantive antitrust issues, including allegations of price-fixing conspiracies, bid-rigging, monopolization attempts, boycotts and customer allocation claims. He has significant background in formulating defenses to class certification of antitrust claims. His experience encompasses representation of a variety of industries including pharmaceutical manufacturers, insurers, and equipment manufacturers. He has special expertise in the scope or applicability of antitrust exemptions such as the McCarran-Ferguson Act relating to the insurance industry. Michael is also counsel to the Legal Issues Committee of the board of one of the nation's largest insurers. He was named an Illinois Super Lawyer for antitrust litigation by the corporate counsel edition of Super Lawyers magazine.

Representative Experience:

In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, (District Court of New Jersey) – representation of commercial insurer defendant in a purported Sherman Act/RICO class action against insurance brokers and insurers
Berco Construction, et al. v. Westamerica Insurance, et al. (Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois) – alleged statewide class action asserting insurer overcharges
Chairperson, Joint Defense Committee, Voluntary Market Premium Litigation (14 alleged statewide or nationwide class action lawsuits alleging conspiracies to violate state insurance regulations and overcharge policyholders for insurance)
BCBSM, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, et al, (Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois) – Chicago counsel to Geneva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a case brought by multiple Blue Cross/Blue Shield entities alleging a conspiracy to keep generic drugs off the market in violation of the antitrust laws of 15 states
Bristol Hotel Management, et al. v. NCCI, et al., (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida) – Sherman and Florida Antitrust Act claims dismissed; briefed and argued
CR/PL, et al. v. Kemper, et al., (Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois) – lead defense counsel for ten defendants, briefed, and argued successful motion to dismiss Illinois Antitrust Act claim; class certification hearing pending
Brand Name Prescription Drug Antitrust Litigation, (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois) – Chicago counsel for trial defendant Novartis
AARP, et al. v. Home Insurance, et al., (Wayne County Circuit Court, Detroit, Michigan) – antitrust claim dismissed, class certification denied
Foodarama, et al. v. CIGNA, et al., (Superior Court of Morris County, New Jersey) – class certification denied
Sandwich Chef of Texas, Inc. v. Reliance National Indemnity Insurance Co., 319 F.3d 205 (5th Cir. 2003) – principal counsel on briefing of successful appeal from nationwide RICO class certification
Bonner v. Globe Life, 05 CV 285 – defense of purported Fair Credit Reporting Act class action alleging improper use of credit information

Pro Bono Activity:

People v. Boclair, successful appeal of death penalty sentence

Publications And Presentations:

Speaker, Panel Moderator, “The Obama Administration and the Future of Antitrust, Corporate and Financial Regulation – A New Day in Antitrust Enforcement,” Incisive Media 21st Annual General Counsel Conference, New York, June 2009.
Speaker, “The Class Action Fairness Act: Reflections on the First Year,” NorthStar Class Action Litigation Summit, New York, June 2006.
Speaker, "The New World of Compliance and Ethics," Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society, Chicago, March 2006.
Speaker, "The Class Action Fairness Act: The Changing Landscape of State And Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Class Actions," Chicago Bar Association, October 2005.
Speaker, “Class Action Reform” NorthStar Class Action Litigation Summit, New York, June 2005.
Co-author, “The Use of Neutral Experts in Antitrust Litigation: An Idea Whose Time Has Come,” Antitrust Trial Practice Newsletter, Summer 2005.
Speaker, “Legal and Practical Defense Tactics In Insurance Class Actions,” NorthStar Class Action Litigation Summit, Washington, D.C., June 2004.
Speaker, “Ratemaking & Rate-Related Practices,” Basics of Insurance Antitrust, ABA Section on Antitrust Law, Insurance Industry Committee, San Antonio, October 1997.
Speaker, “Insurance Antitrust: Coming of Age In The ‘90s.”
Author, “How to Avoid Being Blindsided at Trial,” Litigation Vol. 17, No. 1, Fall 1990.

Professional Associations:

American Bar Association

Chairman, Antitrust Section Insurance Industry Committee: 2001 - 2004

Vice Chair, Antitrust Section Trial Practice Committee: 2004 -

Illinois State Bar Association

Chicago Bar Association

University of Chicago Law School Visiting Committee

Bar Admissions:

Illinois, 1972

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1972

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 1984

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 1989

U.S. District Court of Arizona, 1990

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 1992

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2001

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2002

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 2003

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, 2005

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2007

U.S. Supreme Court, 1993

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