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Legal Proceedings | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Legal Proceedings | Legal Proceedings 2019 Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit In January 2019, three derivative lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California which were later consolidated, purportedly on our behalf, naming as defendants the then current members of our Board of Directors along with certain of our executive officers. The complaints assert various state law causes of action, including for breaches of fiduciary duty, insider trading, and unjust enrichment. The complaints seek unspecified monetary damages on our behalf, which is named solely as a nominal defendant against whom no recovery is sought, as well as disgorgement and the costs and expenses associated with the litigation, including attorneys’ fees. The consolidated action is currently stayed. Defendants have not yet responded to the complaints. On April 12, 2019, a derivative lawsuit was also filed in California Superior Court for Santa Clara County, purportedly on our behalf, naming as defendants the members of our Board of Directors along with certain of our executive officers. The allegations in the complaint are similar to those in the derivative suits described above. The matter is currently stayed. Defendants have not yet responded to the complaint. We believe these claims are without merit. We are currently unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits and therefore cannot determine the likelihood of loss nor estimate a range of possible loss. Antitrust Class Actions On June 5, 2020, a dental practice named Simon and Simon, PC doing business as City Smiles brought an antitrust action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of itself and a putative class of similarly situated practices seeking treble monetary damages, interest, costs, attorneys’ fees, and injunctive relief relating to our alleged market activities in alleged clear aligner and intraoral scanner markets. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint and added VIP Dental Spas as a plaintiff on August 14, 2020. On December 18, 2023, the court certified a class of persons or entities that purchased Invisalign directly from Align between January 1, 2019 and March 31, 2022. We filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit seeking to appeal the certification ruling. The court denied Plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class of purchasers of scanners. On February 21, 2024, the court granted Align’s motion for summary judgment on all claims brought by the plaintiffs. On May 3, 2021, an individual named Misty Snow brought an antitrust action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of herself and a putative class of similarly situated individuals seeking treble monetary damages, interest, costs, attorneys’ fees, and injunctive relief relating to our alleged market activities in alleged clear aligner and intraoral scanner markets based on Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Plaintiffs have filed several amended complaints adding new plaintiffs, various state law claims, and allegations based on Section 1 of the Sherman Act. On November 29, 2023, the court certified a class of indirect purchasers of Invisalign between July 1, 2018 and December 31, 2023 and a class of indirect purchasers of Invisalign seeking injunctive relief. We filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit seeking to appeal this ruling under Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On February 21, 2024, the court granted Align’s motion for summary judgment on the claims related to Section 2 allegations. A jury trial is scheduled to begin in this matter on January 21, 2025 for issues related to Section 1 allegations. We believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves. We are currently unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits and therefore we cannot determine the likelihood of loss, if any, nor estimate a range of possible loss. SDC Dispute On August 27, 2020, we initiated a confidential arbitration proceeding against SmileDirectClub LLC (“SDC”) before the American Arbitration Association in San Jose, California. This arbitration relates to the Strategic Supply Agreement (“Supply Agreement”) entered into between the parties in 2016. The complaint alleges that SDC breached the Supply Agreement’s terms, causing damages to us in an amount to be determined. On January 19, 2021, SDC filed a counterclaim alleging that we breached the Supply Agreement. On May 3, 2022, SDC filed an additional counterclaim alleging that we breached the Supply Agreement. We denied SDC's allegations in the counterclaims. On October 27, 2022, the arbitrator issued an interim award on our claims and SDC’s first counterclaim finding that SDC breached the Supply Agreement, we did not breach the Supply Agreement, and SDC caused harm to us. Based on these findings, the arbitrator awarded us an interim award of $63 million in damages. On May 18, 2023, the arbitrator issued a final award on SDC’s second counterclaim, finding that Align did not breach the Supply Agreement. The final award subsumed the interim award on our claims and SDC’s first counterclaim and concluded the Supply Agreement arbitration proceedings. On March 6, 2023, Align filed a petition to confirm the arbitrator’s interim award in the Superior Court for Santa Clara County. On May 30, 2023, Align filed a petition to confirm the final award in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County. On August 21, 2023, the Superior Court issued an order confirming the Interim and Final Awards. On September 8, 2023, the Superior Court entered judgment in Align’s favor for $63 million in damages. On September 29, 2023, SDC and certain affiliates filed bankruptcy petitions under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. On January 26, 2024, SDC’s bankruptcy cases were converted from cases under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to cases under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. In conjunction therewith, Allison D. Byman was appointed as the chapter 7 trustee in SDC’s bankruptcy cases. The extent to which Align will be able to collect any or all of its $63 million judgment through SDC’s bankruptcy proceedings is unknown. In addition to the above, in the ordinary course of our operations, we are involved in a variety of claims, suits, investigations, and proceedings, including actions with respect to intellectual property claims, patent infringement claims, government investigations, labor and employment claims, breach of contract claims, tax, and other matters. Regardless of the outcome, these proceedings can have an adverse impact on us because of defense costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors. Although the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict and our view of these matters may change in the future as litigation and events related thereto unfold; we currently do not believe that these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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