A partial settlement to an antitrust case
may result in rebates and other benefits to consumers who bought disposable
contact lenses at any time since Jan. 1, 1988, from CIBA Vision or two other
major contact lens manufacturers.
If the settlement is approved, it would
provide discount coupons and a $35 cash rebate on a future purchase of certain
CIBA replacement lenses. CIBA would also make a $5 million payment and be
removed from ongoing antitrust suits brought by 32 states.
The settlement Web site,
www.contactlenssettlement.com, lists the brands. Some of the brands include
Acuvue, SeeQuence and Focus. The two other major defendants, Vistakon and
Bausch & Lomb, have a trial date in March.
Optometric Management, Issue: December 2000