Antitrust Division’s Spring Update 2017: Insights Regarding DOJ’s Enforcement...
The Antitrust Division recently issued its 2017 annual spring update. The update emphasizes the Division’s recent litigation victories, particularly in the merger context. In his introductory remarks,...
View ArticleClorox Seeks Dismissal of Remaining Claims in Woodman’s Food Market Suit
In the latest development in Woodman’s Food Market v. Clorox—the saga between Clorox and Woodman’s that last year generated a landmark Robinson-Patman Act (RP Act) decision by the Seventh...
View ArticleD.C. Circuit Affirms Decision Enjoining Anthem-Cigna Merger; Will the Supreme...
In a split decision, on April 28, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision to issue a permanent injunction blocking the merger of Anthem,...
View ArticleGlobal Inquiries into Drug Price Increases
European competition authorities announced this week an investigation into Aspen Pharmacare’s recent price hikes of five cancer drugs. The European Commission said in a press release that it had...
View ArticleMulti-Defendant Antitrust Litigation: Lessons Learned from In re: Automotive...
Last Friday, in the latest development in the massive auto parts antitrust litigation, the State of California settled with Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. and related companies regarding their sale...
View ArticleThe Spider Network: A Book Review
A new book was recently released about the events surrounding the alleged LIBOR fixing conspiracy. Authored by Wall Street Journal reporter David Enrich, The Spider Network: The Wild Story of a Math...
View ArticleSeventh Circuit Finds Exclusive Dealing in Hospital-Payer Case Pro Competitive
“But what is more common than exclusive dealing?” Affirming summary judgment for defendant Saint Francis Medical Center, the Seventh Circuit recently held that the hospital’s contracts with health...
View ArticleInternational Comity: Supreme Court Considers Vitamin C Price Fixing Lawsuit
On Monday, just a few days after the Justices of the Supreme Court conferred on the cert petition in the Vitamin C price fixing antitrust case, the Court asked the Acting Solicitor General to file a...
View ArticleQualcomm Loses Bid to Dismiss FTC’s Chip Monopoly Suit
Last Monday, the court denied Qualcomm, Inc.’s motion to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s suit against it for allegedly using anticompetitive tactics to maintain a monopoly in baseband modem...
View ArticleFTC Weighs in on State Lawmaking on Appraisal Fees
Last month, the FTC staff sent a letter warning North Carolina’s General Assembly that a pending bill regarding the state’s real estate appraisal board could run afoul of competitive principles. The...
View ArticleWho Listens When Congress Holds a Hearing on a Proposed Merger?
Last week, a Rhode Island Congressman published a letter he sent to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee requesting that the committee hold a hearing on the recently-announced Amazon-Whole...
View ArticleEighth Circuit Applies Continuing Violation Doctrine to Extend Statute of...
Recently in In re Pre-Filled Propane Tank Antitrust Litigation, an en banc panel of the Eighth Circuit clarified the application of the continuing violation exception to the statute of limitations for...
View ArticleSabre Appeals to the Second Circuit After $15M Jury Verdict for US Airways
Last week, Sabre filed its principal brief on appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn the jury’s verdict of $15 million and find for Sabre or, in the alternative, grant a new...
View ArticleClass Action Alleges Antitrust Conspiracy Among “Circle of Five” German...
On July 28, 2017, a group of plaintiffs filed a putative class action in the Northern District of California against BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Daimler, and Mercedes-Benz, as well as auto-parts...
View ArticleFTC Competition Director Highlights Enforcement Priorities in the...
Last week Markus Meier, the Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission, gave testimony to the House Judiciary Committee concerning “Antitrust Concerns and the FDA...
View ArticleSenate bill would attach strings to state licensing boards’ antitrust immunity
As we noted last month, the FTC has recently been voicing concerns about potentially anticompetitive actions of state professional licensing boards. Our post also discussed the scope of such boards’...
View ArticleRadius Restrictions – New York AG Cracks Down on Outlet Mall Operator
Outlet malls are popular destinations for consumers seeking a bargain, even if not everyone agrees that the deals are as good as advertised. But although the prices may seem low, a common provision in...
View ArticleThird Circuit Holds No Sham Litigation or Unlawful Reverse Payment in...
The Third Circuit recently affirmed the grant of summary judgment to GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”) in the nearly 10-year-old Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation, which challenged the lawfulness of settlement...
View ArticleThird Circuit Says “Umbrella Damages” Bar Does Not Preclude Antitrust...
In a case of first impression, the Third Circuit recently held in In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 16-3795, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 2698 (3d Cir. Jan. 22, 2018), that a direct...
View ArticleDuke and UNC: No-Poach Case Update
Last month, we reported on a partial settlement in an antitrust case alleging that entities within the Duke and the University of North Carolina systems agreed not to hire each other’s medical...
View Article