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LITIGATION NOTE: Crowell & Moring Wins Denial of Class Certification

Firm News | 1 min read | 10.27.17

Washington, D.C. – October 27, 2017: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that client CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) prevailed in obtaining the denial of class certification, dismissing a group of rail shippers in their renewed bid to proceed as a class in a lawsuit alleging the country’s four largest freight railroads conspired to fix fuel surcharges.

Crowell & Moringrepresents CSXT in a consolidated group of putative class actions filed by purchasers of rail freight transportation services seeking more than $7.8 billion in class-wide damages. Plaintiffs allege that CSXT and the three other major U.S. freight railroads engaged in a conspiracy to fix fuel surcharge prices in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. 

After the district court originally certified a class of direct purchasers of rail freight transportation services in 2012, the railroads petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to immediately review that decision, and prevailed. The D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded the case back to the district court, expressing concerns about the reliability of plaintiff’s statistical models supporting certification on the questions of class-wide impact and damages. After remand proceedings, including extensive additional expert discovery and a second class certification hearing in September 2016, the district court denied class certification on October 10, 2017. 

The team was led by Kent Gardiner and included Shari Ross Lahlou and Luke van Houwelingen.

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Firm News | 1 min read | 03.11.25

Crowell & Moring Represents Nuclear Energy Startup Atomic Alchemy in its Acquisition by Oklo

March 11, 2025: Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), an advanced nuclear technology company, announced on March 5, 2025 that it has closed the $25 million acquisition of Crowell client Atomic Alchemy Inc. (“Atomic Alchemy”), a leading innovator in radioisotope production. Oklo intends to use this strategic acquisition to establish a more reliable domestic supply chain for high-value radioisotopes critical to healthcare, research, and defense sectors and provides synergies to Oklo’s fuel recycling and nuclear energy businesses. Demand for radioisotopes is expected to increase significantly over the next decade, while global supply struggles to keep pace due to aging reactor infrastructure and a fragmented global supply chain, which at present is dominated by countries outside the United States. Atomic Alchemy intends to be a low-cost U.S. radioisotope producer that can provide a secure and domestic supply of radioisotopes to U.S. companies commercializing innovative radioisotope applications. With its proprietary VIPR® technology, Atomic Alchemy is building the first scalable production facility to provide a reliable, sustainable source of high-value radioisotopes. Using a vertically integrated model and fuel recycling, in partnership with Oklo, Atomic Alchemy is transforming isotope production to address global shortages, support critical applications, and strengthen national security. The core deal team included Samuel Holland Edwards, Jon O’Connell, Justin Lurie, and Ryan Flynn....

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