Today the Supreme Court granted review in Federal Trade Comm'n v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, No. 12-416 (U.S.), an antitrust case that presents the question of whether section 1 of the Sherman Act bars Competitor A from paying Competitor B to delay rolling out a generic drug that vies for sales with Competitor A's brand-name drug. Posts
Foreign Air Cargo Carriers Dodge Price-Fixing Claims
The Federal Aviation Act pre-empts state laws that "relate[] to a price, route, or service of an air carrier." The statute thus bars state law price-fixing claims against your American Airlineses, your U.S. Airwayses, your Virgin Americas, and — yes — even your Air Gumbos and your go!s.
But what about our foreign flying friends at
Third Circuit Sustains Antitrust Verdict for Exclusive Dealing, Remands for Review of New Damages Model
The Third Circuit handles a lot of antitrust cases. It usually gets them right. It did that again last Friday, in ZF Meritor, LLC v. Eaton Corp., No. 11-3301 (3d Cir. Sept. 28, 2012).
The case involved heavy-duty truck transmissions, the kinds that go in semi-trailer rigs and dump and cement trucks. The biggest
Second Circuit Revives CDO Wash-Out and Paper Price-Fixing Cases
The Second Circuit today came out with rulings in two big commercial cases.
The first involved a "collateralized debt obligation", the second a cartel that the plaintiffs alleged fixed prices for "publication paper". Plaintiffs won both times.
The CDO case stemmed from a $60 million purchase in December 2006 by a German bank, Bayerische
Pay-for-Delay Claim Lives to Fight Another Day, Third Circuit Rules; Circuit Split Widens
K-Dur treats low potassium. We think.
Since 2003, the Federal Trade Commission has fought a losing battle to halt bargains in which a brand-name drug-maker pays a generic competitor to put off entering the market. Pacts like that, the agency urged, result in "reverse payments", which compensate a patent infringer not to do stuff that might infringe the patent. Such arrangements violate antitrust law
How Do You Know when Price-Fixing in Foreign Trade Runs Afoul of U.S. Antitrust Law?
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
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
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
Lenders Can Boycott Debtor’s Offers to Repay at Discount, Eleventh Circuit Holds
Suppose you took out loans to help pay the costs of running your business. You later suffer some setbacks. Bad ones. The market price of the loans, and their value on your lenders' books, take a tumble. In a fair world, those who made the loans would gladly let you pay off the debt at a discount, right?