On March 13, 2025, the Second Circuit issued a decision in favor of Weil client Saks Fifth Avenue and other luxury retailers in a closely watched antitrust class action. The plaintiffs, former Saks employees, alleged that Saks entered into agreements with other retailers not to hire certain Saks employees, and that these alleged “no hire” agreements were unlawful under the federal Sherman Act. 

The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to state an antitrust claim. The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The Court first explained that because the relationship between Saks and the other retailer defendants was primarily vertical, not horizontal, the alleged agreement was subject to analysis under the rule of reason. The Court then concluded that the plaintiffs had failed adequately to allege anticompetitive effects in the relevant market, a necessary element of a rule-of-reason claim. The plaintiffs alleged a nationwide market of all “luxury retail employees” (or, alternatively, all Saks employees); but they failed to make plausible allegations that the alleged agreements depressed wages or mobility in either of those markets given the availability of employment by other luxury retailers. 

Mark A. Perry, Co-Head of Weil’s Appeals and Strategic Counseling practice, successfully argued the appeal for Saks. The broader Weil team also included Weil Litigation Department Co-Chair David Lender and associate Rachel Williams.