Montana State Antitrust Dispute Resolved on Summary Judgment

District of Montana Judge Richard F. Cebull dismissed state antitrust claims filed by Montana Camo brought under the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, granting Cabela’s motion for summary judgment.  The plaintiff supplied camouflage clothing and licensed clothing designs to Cabela’s until disagreements arose over pricing.  Montana Camo claims that Cabela’s violated state antitrust law by (1) buying keywords that redirect Internet searches for “Montana Camo” toward Cabela’s site, and (2) entering resale price fixing agreements.  The court held that the first type of conduct, while “underhanded” hurt only the plaintiff and not the competitive process.  With respect to price fixing, the court found insufficient evidence of an actual agreement. “The undisputed evidence is that prices were not fixed,” Judge Cebull wrote.

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