In re California Bail Bond Antitrust Litigation

I. BACKGROUND

22 A. Factual Background 23 This is a putative antitrust class action brought by Plaintiffs against 20 bail bond surety 24 companies (including the Moving Defendants) and William B. Carmichael, the President and CEO 25 of ASC, asserting a decades-long conspiracy to fix prices for bail bonds. [Docket No. 513 (Class 26 Cert. Mot.) at 2-3.] The factual background is set out in the Honorable Jon S. Tigar’s order 27 denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the Third Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (TCAC) and is briefly summarized here. [Docket No. 330 at 1-2.] Many criminal arrestees in California may post money bail for their release, and as long as they appear for scheduled court dates, the money will be returned to them in full. Id. Arrestees who cannot afford to pay bail often purchase a bail bond sold by agents and underwritten by sureties. Id. Sureties set the price of a bail bond as a percentage of the total bail amount, called the “premium rate.” Id. Even if a purchaser attends all court dates, they do not receive back any portion of the premium. Id. But agents have the option to reduce the premium charged an…