A federal judge has rejected Align Technology's proposed $27.5 million settlement in its antitrust case.
Align Technology was facing allegations that it participated in anticompetitive conduct that drove up the prices of SmileDirectClub aligners. The class action lawsuit stemmed from a previous agreement between the two clear aligner companies in which Align Technology agreed not to enter the direct-to-consumer market. This agreement allegedly led to SmileDirectClub patients paying more for their aligners.
Align Technology agreed to pay $27.5 million to settle the allegations and filed a motion for the settlement Aug. 29. As part of the settlement, Align agreed to provide $300 coupons for its Invisalign treatment to the nearly 1.4 million class members.
The judge ordered that the settlement be denied because Align Technology failed to address several issues in its agreement, including the potential impact of the coupon distribution on competition in the industry.
Align must now submit a renewed motion for preliminary approval within 35 days to resolve the claims, according to court documents.