Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston denied a summary judgment motion that challenged the standing of a newspaper subscriber and reader to bring antitrust claims against owners of major newspapers in the San Francisco Bay area. Her Honor held that the owners’ plan to consolidate ownership and divide markets threatens the kind of injury — in the form of higher prices and less "content diversity" — that section 16 of the Clayton Act aims to prevent. The decision clears the way for trial on April 30, 2007. Reilly v. MediaNews Group, Inc., No. C 06-04332 SI (N.D. Cal. Apr. 10, 2007).
Barry Barnett
