Align-SmileDirectClub Antitrust Settlement Denied Again by Judge

Align Technology Inc. suffered another setback in its bid to settle antitrust claims that the company colluded to raise prices of its popular Invisalign products, as a judge denied the company’s renewed motion for a $27.5 million settlement with buyer plaintiffs.

Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California in a Thursday order rejected the proposed deal, saying its coupon program offered to class members “will direct still more customers to the monopolist,” referring to Align.

“It’s not clear that such a settlement would ever be appropriate in an antitrust class action against a ...