On May 15, 2026, Williams & Connolly secured a win before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of CVS Health and other CVS entities in antitrust litigation filed by several independent pharmacies. The pharmacy plaintiffs filed a putative class action in district court and CVS moved to compel arbitration. The district court compelled arbitration notwithstanding plaintiffs’ arguments that the arbitration agreement was unconscionable, and Williams & Connolly defended that judgment on appeal. In its opinion, the three-judge panel rejected the pharmacies’ challenges and ruled that the plaintiffs must arbitrate their antitrust claims. Partner Luke McCloud presented oral argument before the court on March 3, 2026.
The Williams & Connolly team representing CVS also included partner Benjamin Hazelwood and associates Kees Thompson, Jonathan Artal, and alumni Garrett Wen.