Judge Recuses Herself From Antitrust Case Against Top Colleges

A federal judge has recused herself from a financial aid conspiracy case against 40 private colleges, saying she and her family members are “involved with one or more of the university defendants.”

Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Oct. 18 filed a request for reassignment in the case, which accuses the College Board and 40 private universities of engaging in a scheme tied to financial aid that violates US antitrust law. The case has been reassigned to Judge Sara L. Ellis.

Coleman is the latest judge to recuse from an antitrust case this year.

Judge Andrea R. Wood of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recused herself last month from a settled antitrust class action brought by homeowners over realtor commission payments, citing the spouse of a distant relative who is a partner in a law firm representing one of the defendants.

In April, Judge Michael Farbiarz recused himself from the Justice Department’s antitrust suit against Apple Inc. citing a rule barring federal judges from overseeing cases in which their impartiality “might reasonably be questioned.”

Federal law requires judges to disqualify themselves from cases when they have a conflict of interest, such as appearance of impartiality, actual bias, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts.

Coleman didn’t cite the specific defendants she or her family members are involved with.

Steve Berman, managing partner with Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, which represents the plaintiffs, said in an email to Bloomberg Law he was glad that Coleman recognized the conflict.

The case is Hansen v. Nw. Univ., N.D. Ill., No. 1:24-cv-09667, 10/18/24.