Elizabeth H. Yandell

Ms. Yandell’s experience includes representing:

• BMW in the multidistrict In re German Automotive Manufacturers Antitrust Litigation and related Ninth Circuit appeal where two classes of plaintiffs alleged participation in a broad-ranging conspiracy to suppress innovation in technological development of cars and light duty trucks.
•  The United States Soccer Federation, Inc. (US Soccer) in multiple actions, including
  • A lawsuit brought by the North American Soccer League, LLC (NASL). The NASL alleges that US Soccer conspired with other professional soccer leagues and other US Soccer member and non-member entities to exclude the NASL from Division I and Division II professional soccer and to monopolize the markets for Division I and Division II soccer in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, respectively.
  • A lawsuit and related Second Circuit appeal brought by an international soccer game promoter, Relevent Sports, LLC, alleging that US Soccer conspired with FIFA and others to preclude foreign leagues’ official season matches from being played In the United States.
  • An arbitration of claims brought by famed US soccer player Hope Solo alleging US Soccer was in violation of the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act.
• The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in a lawsuit brought by a minor player alleging NWSL’s minimum age requirement violated the antitrust laws.
• Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. related to its compliance with the Consent Decree it entered with the US DOJ following its merger with Ticketmaster.
• StarKist Co. in a multidistrict litigation consolidated in the US District Court for the Southern District of California. Plaintiffs are several large grocery stores, as well as putative nationwide classes of direct or indirect purchasers of packaged seafood products who allege StarKist conspired with other packaged seafood products producers to fix the prices for packaged seafood products and assert violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and various state antitrust and consumer protection laws.
• Non-profit organization Creative Commons in connection with litigation over the interpretation of its suite of off-the-shelf copyright licenses.
• Toshiba Corp. and its affiliates in several international cartel investigations and private damages actions, including In re Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Litigation, where Toshiba Corp. defeated indirect purchaser class and multiple direct action plaintiffs on summary judgment, and the DOJ closed its grand jury investigation without action.
• Pandora and iHeartMedia in a series of cases over the use of old sound recordings by digital broadcasters. In each of the suits—more than a dozen in total—the plaintiffs filed putative class actions alleging that playing albums made before 1972 (a date with unique significance in US copyright law) requires a never-before-recognized need to take a license and pay a royalty from the rights holder.  Latham defended clients against these claims in multiple California District Courts, the California Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Northern District of Illinois, among others. Latham secured victories for its clients in each of these cases.