Align-SmileDirectClub Collusion Settlement Nixed by Judge

Align Technology Inc.'s $27.5 million deal to settle claims in an antitrust case accusing the company of colluding with the now-defunct SmileDirectClub to inflate prices of aligner products has been rejected by a federal judge.

Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday denied preliminary approval of the deal designed to cover 1.45 million class members who purchased SmileDirectClub clear aligners.

Align must now come back with a renewed motion for preliminary approval within 35 days to resolve long-standing claims that it schemed with SmileDirect to reduce competition in the direct-to-consumer clear ...