Press Release

March 19, 2026

Press Release

WLF Asks Ninth Circuit to Halt District Court’s Attempt to Extend California Antitrust Law Nationwide

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“Anointing California as the nation’s antitrust enforcer undermines federalism and offends due process.”
—Cory L. Andrews, WLF General Counsel & Vice President of Litigation

Click here for WLF’s brief.

(Washington, DC)—Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to grant leave to appeal a district court’s class-certification order. WLF contends that the order violates federalism and due process by improperly applying California’s Cartwright Act to out-of-state transactions and harms.

The case stems from Altria’s 2018 investment in Juul Labs after independently shuttering its uncompetitive e-cigarette division amid losses and FDA scrutiny. Private plaintiffs allege that the investment and a related non-compete unfairly reduced competition. The district court certified a nationwide direct-purchaser class under federal antitrust law and two multistate indirect-purchaser classes under the Cartwright Act across 27 jurisdictions.

In its amicus brief, WLF argues that the certification order flouts California’s presumption against extraterritoriality and choice-of-law rules by imposing California’s policies on other states. It also threatens due process by applying California law to claims with insufficient ties to the state. The state-by-state variations in antitrust laws pose insuperable obstacles rendering class litigation both unmanageable and unconstitutional.

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