On this Fourth of July, let us think of our patriot farmers. Also our domestic glass-blowers, soap-makers, even people who produce feed for our critters. For all use potash — "mineral and chemical salts that are rich in potassium". And all of them fell victim to a 600 percent price increase that resulted from a
Seventh Circuit Slams Sears Settlement; Easterbrook Rampant
Royal Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland. Note the lion rampant.
The Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit enjoys hurling verbal bolts of lightning. At least you would think so if you read what His Honor, Frank Easterbrook, wrote this week in Robert F. Booth Trust v. Crowley, No. 10-3285 (7th Cir. June 13, 2012).
An
Eleventh Circuit Goes En Banc on Pack of Hedge Funds
May a pack of hedge funds gang up on a borrower to stop pack members from cutting deals with the borrower to lighten its debt burden?
Of course they can (and would), you say. But would they thus run afoul of the Sherman Act? Did you think of that? Heard of section 1? Which bars
E-Books Case Draws WSJ Wrath
Talk about goofy.
Today's WSJ — The Wall Street Journal — includes a column that gets antitrust law so wrong you wonder why the paper's pundits, who include those who write the official editorials, bother.
The column in question takes aim at the U.S. Department of Justice's case that calls Apple and five book publishers
Court Orders Trial in Cable Antitrust Case
U.S. Senior District Judge John Padova today granted in part and denied in part the motion of Comcast for summary judgment on claims that it violated sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act by entering into market-allocation agreements with competitors and monopolizing the market for cable services in the Philadelphia area.
Judge Padova's 72-page
U.S. E-Book Complaint Lays Out “Agency” Pact with Apple
You've likely heard by now that the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice sued Apple and a bunch of e-book publishers for fixing prices on, well, e-books.
You can see the complaint here.
The key part comes in paragraph 7, which explains Apple's "agency" plan for thwarting Amazon's effort to cut all
Second Circuit Roundup
Blawgletter hasn't hidden our liking for the cut of the Second Circuit's jib. We admire lots of things about the court. This week, three panels confirmed our High Opinion.
Let's see . . . one involved whether an antitrust complaint met the Twombly/Iqbal standard for pleading a "plausible" conspiracy, the second dealt with
Enemy of the Good: Class Cert Doesn’t Require Perfect Proof, Seventh Circuit Says
The Seventh Circuit held last week that a district court set too high a standard for class certification in an antitrust case.
"In essence," the panel ruled, it is important not to let a quest for perfect evidence become the enemy of good evidence." Messner v. Northshore University HealthSystem, No. 10-2514, slip op. 3
Third Circuit Restores Global Diamond Class
Remember the antitrust settlement class that a Third Circuit panel struck down last year? The one that went en banc a few weeks later? The one whose oral argument Blawgletter saw and wrote a post about?
Today, the en banc Third Circuit ruled 7-2 in favor of class certification. Judge Rendell, who wrote the dissent
AT&T Quits Quest for T-Mobile
AT&T just told the world that it and Deutsche Telekom would halt the purchase and sale of T-Mobile USA. The press release stated:
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said today that after a thorough review of options it has agreed with Deutsche Telekom AG to end its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA, which began in