Invisalign Manufacturer, Investors Get First Approval in $16M Class Action Settlement

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Invisalign Investor Class Action Settlement: 

• Who: A $16 million settlement between Align Technology and investors has been given preliminary approval.
• Why: The investors claim the company, which makes Invisalign teeth straighteners, misled them about the level of competition as some of its patents expired.
• Where: The settlement is taking place in California.

Invisalign makers, Align Technology, and investors earned preliminary approval of a $16 million settlement, ending class action allegations that the company lied about the level of competition it was facing in the teeth straightening technology market.

US District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh set a final hearing date for the settlement for April 28, where decisions will be made on class certification, fairness, and more.

Investors announced the Invisalign class action settlement earlier this year. The $16 million deal, if it makes it through final approval, will end a lawsuit against Align Technology in 2018, alleging that the company lied to them about the increase in competition it was facing as patents on some of its technology expired. 

Invisalign share prices later plummeted by nearly $59 following news about a secret discount promotion that was hurting the prices of Align’s products, alleged the class action. 

Align has argued that the discount doesn’t qualify as an actual adjustment to its business, saying promotions are regularly used as marketing tools, Law360 reports.

Since then, the complaint has been dismissed once and filed with amendments. 

Invisalign Investors Class Action Settlement

The investors have called for the settlement’s approval, telling Koh they would have faced “substantial obstacles” in proving the case in court, Law360 states.

The investors’ motion seeking preliminary approval says that attorneys will seek no more than 20 percent of the settlement fund and litigation reimbursement not to exceed $250,000, Law360 reports.

If the class action is certified, which Koh said was likely, investors who purchased or acquired the company’s common stock between May 23, 2018 and Oct. 24, 2018, will be eligible to make claims.

In October, Align Technology dodged a class action antitrust lawsuit when a federal judge in California tossed the complaint alleging that the company monopolized the invisible plastic teeth aligner market. 

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The plaintiffs are represented by Jennifer L. Joost, Stacey M. Kaplan, and Johnston de F. Whitman Jr. of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP. 

The Invisalign Investors Class Action Lawsuit is Lu v. Align Technology Inc., et al., Case No. 5:18-cv-06720, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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