CORAL GABLES, FL – June 2026 – Podhurst Orseck secured a significant appellate victory in a high-stakes antitrust class action involving the used yacht resale market. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed the denial of defendant YATCO, LLC’s motion to compel arbitration.
Podhurst Orseck serves as lead appellate counsel and Co-Lead Counsel for the putative class. Podhurst attorneys Stephen F. Rosenthal and Lea P. Bucciero led the appellate effort, alongside co-counsel Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, P.C.
The litigation alleges that yacht brokerage companies, trade associations, and multiple listing service (MLS) operators conspired to inflate commissions paid in used yacht transactions in violation of federal antitrust laws. YATCO was the only defendant among the 18 named in the lawsuit to seek to compel arbitration, a move that stayed the litigation for more than a year.
In affirming the district court’s decision, the Eleventh Circuit rejected each of YATCO’s arguments and cleared the way for the consolidated, putative class action to resume before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore in the Southern District of Florida.
Under the Clayton Act, prevailing plaintiffs in an antitrust conspiracy case are entitled to recover treble damages. Given the volume of used yacht transactions across the putative class during the relevant period, the potential damages exposure in this case is substantial.
The decision represents an important victory for the plaintiffs and rejects unwarranted efforts to block litigation in court through tangential arbitration agreements that the plaintiffs did not sign.
