- Promise to charge “competitive” price for power didn’t require price lower than default utility charged.
- Hot off the Antitrust Division and FTC presses.
- Contract naming Chinese parent firm as consignee of cattle feed did not make parent a party to contract its
Commercial Roundup – December 13, 2023
Welcome to Commercial Roundup!
This issue notes an Epic antitrust win against Google, comments by yours truly on the likelihood of an Antitrust Division challenge to a $1.8 billion merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian, Susman Godfrey’s National Boutique of the Year award, and tips on themes for your next jury trial. And, oh
“You can’t equate a benefit to some consumers to a pro-competitive effect.”
U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Sung made the comment December 6 during oral argument in the Federal Trade Commission’s ongoing effort to block Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, the biggest U.S. maker of video games. (Hat tip to Josh Sisco at Politico Pro.) The FTC claimed that the merger threatened to substantially reduce competition
Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Might Crash into the 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines
The $1.9 billion deal Alaska Airlines signed with Hawaiian Airlines on December 3 would enable the competitors to collaborate on the 12 routes they both fly between the Aloha State and cities on the U.S. West Coast–a small part of their overall networks. Does that mean the Antitrust Division will challenge the deal?
Probably.
I
Commercial Roundup – November 15, 2023
- Expert witness
What $26.3 Billion Bought Google, and the Cost of Secrecy
Last Friday, October 27, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta overruled an objection by Google’s trial counsel to a question about how much the online search and ad giant pays Apple and other browser providers for making Google’s search engine the default. The lawyer claimed that making the dollar amount public would hurt Google’s negotiating position
Commercial Roundup – September 15, 2023
- Data breach that exposed plaintiff’s personally identifying information to hacker caused “concrete” harm and conferred Article III standing to sue
- Notes from commercial loan syndication don’t qualify as “securities” under state blue-sky law.
- Forum rule” limited fee award to
Commercial Roundup – August 23, 2023
This late-summer edition of Commercial Roundup features a notable ruling on personal jurisdiction, a pair of False Claims Act decisions, a couple of opinions tossing class certification orders, a 2-1 split in a securities fraud case (the dissent has the better end of it), a rare victory for plaintiffs in an action for unlawful maintenance
Big Boost in Antitrust Funding Won’t Happen in 2023
As I mentioned last month in Antitrust Enforcers Must Have More Funding, the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission need a boost of $340 million from current funding just to return them (in constant dollars) to 1979
Commercial Roundup – July 26, 2023
- Antitrust