Marc Seltzer

Practice Areas

Class Action, Antitrust, Securities

Career

Having litigated and won complex cases for nearly 50 years, Marc Seltzer is a nationally renowned trial lawyer. Seltzer, who is a leading class action lawyer, has been appointed by courts to lead over a dozen national MDLs and has been tapped to sit on the Executive Committees of several of the county’s most watershed class action cases.

Seltzer has secured billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for the clients he represents. Be it trying a multi-million-dollar securities action case to verdict, negotiating billions of dollars in complex antitrust actions, or facing off against industry titans in a product liability dispute, Seltzer consistently secures groundbreaking victories in his widespread and prominent class action practice.

Professional Memberships

• Past Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee, Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section, State Bar of California

• Past President, Member, Board of Directors of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society

• Past President, Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

• Life Member, American Law Institute

• Advisory Board of the American Antitrust Institute

, Board of Directors., American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, National Equal Justice Library, American Friends of Hebrew University, Western Region, Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library

• Board of Trustees, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

• Life Fellow, American Bar Foundation

• American Bar Association (and its Business Law, Antitrust Law, Torts and Insurance Law, and Litigation Sections)

• Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works

Work Highlights

ANTITRUST

• In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation. Lead a team of lawyers in massive MDL litigation involving price-fixing in the sale of component parts included in over 20 million automobiles. The team is co-lead counsel for a class of consumer and business plaintiffs in these multidistrict price-fixing cases pending in a Detroit, Michigan federal court. Thus far, Seltzer has led negotiations to help recover more than $1.2 billion. Litigation is ongoing with remaining defendants.

• In re: Libor-based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation. Serve as court-appointed co-lead counsel to a direct purchaser class, which was certified by the Court–the only one of several proposed classes to receive certification–in a consolidated antitrust proceeding arising out of the LIBOR-rate fixing scandal. The litigation has thus far resulted in recoveries for the class of $590 million.

• In re: NFL's "Sunday Ticket" Antitrust Litigation, Appointed by the Court to serve as co-lead counsel to the subscribers in a California multidistrict class action litigation alleging DirecTV’s exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket package violates federal antitrust laws. In August of 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major published decision reversing the district court’s dismissal of the case. Seltzer successfully argued the appeal on behalf of the plaintiffs.

• Curtis Markson, Mark McGeorge, Clois McCLendon, and Eric Clark, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, vs. CRST International, Inc., et al. Leads a team of lawyers in a class action against several trucking companies for an alleged anticompetitive agreement among those companies not to poach each other’s “under contract” drivers. The putative class consists of several thousand truck drivers that have worked for the companies over the last several years.

• Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors. Appointed by the court as co-lead counsel to plaintiffs, leads Susman Godfrey’s efforts in this antitrust class action filed in 2019 in Chicago federal court against the four largest realtor companies and the National Association of Realtors alleging antitrust violations based on rules and practices that require the seller’s broker to offer to pay the buyer-broker’s commissions.

• In re Animation Workers Antitrust Litigation. Appointed to serve as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in this consolidated class actions filed in San Jose federal court on behalf of animation workers who were allegedly subject to wage suppression as a result of “no poaching” agreements by their employers. Over $168 million in settlements, before fees and expenses, were secured for the benefit of the class. Seltzer was named a “Giant Slayer” by The Recorder (2017, ALM) for his work on this case.

• In re Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. Antitrust Litigation. Appointed by the Los Angeles federal court to serve as one of the co-lead counsel for a class consisting of more than eighty consolidated antitrust class action cases pending in the Los Angeles federal court. Plaintiffs alleged that the two airline company defendants conspired to fix the prices of tickets for travel between the United States and Korea. The case was settled for $86 million in cash and travel vouchers, with the class receiving approximately $60 million.

• Masimo Corp. v. Tyco Healthcare Group L.P. Served as co-trial counsel for the plaintiff in this monopolization and restraint of trade case that was tried to a favorable verdict. A new trial was then granted to argue damages. On retrial, the Court awarded approximately $45 million in damages (after trebling). The Ninth Circuit affirmed the liability verdict and damages award. The client received a net recovery of approximately $27 million.

• White v. NCAA, Served as co-lead counsel for the plaintiff in this antitrust class action brought in Los Angeles federal court challenging limitations on financial assistance provided by colleges and universities to student athletes. The case was settled for benefits netting the class approximately $220 million, plus court-approved attorneys’ fees and costs.

SECURITIES CLASS ACTIONS

• In re: Allergan Inc. Proxy Violation Derivatives Litigation. Served as co-lead counsel for a class of derivative securities investors who alleged that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. engaged in insider trading. A federal judge granted final approval of two settlements for the involved classes totaling $290 million shortly before trial was set to commence. The class represented by Marc Seltzer recovered $40 million, which is believed to be the largest recovery ever obtained on behalf of derivative securities investors in an insider trading case.

• Schulein, et al. v. Petroleum Development Corp., et al. Served as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a class action brought in Santa Ana federal court on behalf of more than 7000 limited partners who invested in 12 oil and gas limited partnerships. Plaintiffs alleged the defendants misled investors on the value of the partnership. After three years of hard-fought litigation, the case was settled on the eve of trial for $37.5 million, with the class receiving approximately $24 million.

• In re Structured Settlement Litigation. Served as one of the lead counsel for the plaintiffs in this series of consolidated class actions were brought in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The plaintiffs were parties to structured settlements that resolved their personal injury and wrongful death cases. They were victimized years later by the alleged fraudulent conversion of U.S. Treasury bonds backing their settlements. The litigation was settled for approximately $130 million.

• McGuire v. Dendreon Corp. Appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel for the class in this consolidated securities fraud class action cases filed in Seattle federal. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants had made false and misleading statements about a new drug that the company planned to sell. The case was settled for $16.5 million.

• In Motorcar Parts & Accessories Securities Litigation. Appointed by the Los Angeles federal court to serve as lead counsel for the class in fourteen consolidated securities fraud class actions. The case was settled for $7.5 million.

• In re Taxable Municipal Bond Securities Litigation. Appointed to Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, and together with plaintiffs’ lead counsel, supervised and managed every aspect of the litigation which was a consolidated multi-district proceeding brought on behalf of defrauded purchasers of taxable municipal bonds. The case resulted in numerous reported decisions on important recurring issues arising under the federal securities laws which can be supplied upon request. After several years of intense litigation, the case was settled for approximately $110 million.

OTHER COMPLEX CLASS ACTIONS

• In re Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, where Seltzer was appointed to serve as one of the co-lead counsel for the economic loss class action plaintiffs. After three years of hard-fought litigation, an historic settlement was reached valued $1.6 billion, with the class receiving net benefits valued at approximately $1.4 billion.

• In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation. Appointed by the Court to serve on the Executive Committee and is one of the lawyers representing the class plaintiffs in this massive class action against General Motors where hundreds of suits have been consolidated into a federal multidistrict litigation in New York over an alleged ignition switch defect in GM vehicles which causes the engine to switch off during use and disable the car's air bags.

• Clark v. AdvanceMe, Inc. Served as lead counsel for the class in this class action brought in Los Angeles federal court challenging financial arrangements with retail merchants under California’s laws against usury. The case was settled for approximately $23.4 million in cash and other economic consideration, with the class receiving approximately $19 million.

Education

Awards