JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—A long-running price-fixing lawsuit reached a final settlement on Oct. 12, when a federal judge in Florida ordered the last two defendants, Alcon Vision LLC and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, to pay a combined total of $75 million to resolve a complex class action litigation related to disposable contact lenses. The order, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger of the Middle District of Florida federal court, calls for a $20 million settlement with Alcon and a $55 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, according to the court filing.

Under the terms of the settlement, both companies were absolved of any wrongdoing or liability. VMAIL reported on May 13, 2022 that Alcon and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care had agreed to the terms of a preliminary settlement of the lawsuit.
 
The subject of the litigation was a controversial “Unilateral Pricing Policy” that involved minimum pricing on contact lenses. According to a Reuters report, the case stems from a complaint filed initially in 2015 that alleged the largest contact lens companies had agreed between 2013 and 2018 to restrain competition for certain disposable contact lenses. The lawsuit claimed manufacturers “conspired to eliminate discounting of contact lenses by ensuring that all retailers charged the same minimum price.”
 
Three companies have already reached settlements that, overall, would result in payments totaling $43.2 million, according to Reuters. The companies and settlements are: CooperVision, ABB Con-Cise Optical Group and Bausch + Lomb Inc. The companies denied liability as part of the settlements.
 
VMAIL reported on the B+L settlement in September 2019.