In Stewart et al. v. Gogo Inc., Northern District of California Judge Edward M. Chen denied Gogo Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action, alleging that Gogo’s unfair long-term contracts with airlines created a monopoly. Plaintiffs allege Gogo carved out a dominant industry position to the detriment of consumers and the wider market space […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
EC Advocate General Advises UC Court to Affirm a Ban on Credit Card Processing Fees
January 31, 2014 – 6:12 pm
In MasterCard and Others v. Commission, the European Court of Justice adviser Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi, backed a European Commission decision drastically reducing MasterCard Inc.’s bank-to-bank credit card processing fees. Advocate general rejected MasterCard’s argument that the lower court used the wrong standard in deciding whether the court should treat the company’s conduct as a […]
Court Denies Class Certification In Pharmaceutical Pay-For Delay MDL
January 31, 2014 – 5:45 pm
In In re: Skelaxin (Metaxalone) Antitrust Litigation, Eastern District of Tennessee Court Judge Curtis L. Collier denied class certifications to two groups claiming Pfizer Inc.’s King Pharmaceuticals Inc. settled a patent dispute with a deal to keep muscle relaxant Skelaxin off the market in a pay-for-delay arrangement that kept the drug prices at brand-name levels. […]
Court Orders Insurer to Reimburse Hospital for Antitrust Case Settlement
January 27, 2014 – 10:26 pm
In William Beaumont Hospital v. Federal Insurance Co., Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Federal Insurance Co. to reimburse WilliamBeaumontHospital 80 percent of an $11.3 million settlement with nurses who alleged wage suppression in an antitrust class action. The court found that failing to hand over wages is different from illicitly acquiring wages. As a […]
FTC Increases Clayton Act Reporting Threshold
January 27, 2014 – 10:06 pm
The Federal Trade Commission announced that it has increased the threshold for reporting proposed mergers and acquisitions subject to enforcement under Section 7A of the Clayton Act to $75.9 million. The new thresholds will take effect 30 days after they are officially published in the Federal Register. In November, the FTC approved a $1.2 billion […]
Court Imposes the Longest-Ever Antitrust Violation Prison Sentence for Ocean-Shipping Price-Fixing
December 20, 2013 – 10:46 pm
In U.S. v. Frank Peake, District of Puerto Rico Judge Daniel Dominguez sentenced Sea Star Line LLC’s former president, Frank Peake, to five years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to manipulate the ocean-shipping company’s prices. According to the prosecutors, Sea Star, Peake and his unnamed co-conspirators schemed to inflate the rates and […]
Second Circuit Reverses Executives’ Municipal Bond Bid-Rigging Convictions
December 20, 2013 – 10:29 pm
In U.S. v. Grimm et al., Second Circuit Court of Appeals explained its earlier decision to reverse the municipal bond bid-rigging convictions of three former General Electric Co. officials. The three former GE executives were accused of paying kickbacks to brokers as part of a scheme that cheated cities and towns out of funds for […]
EU Inspects Electronic Manufacturers and Distributors Due To Suspicions of Online Price Manipulation
December 19, 2013 – 3:13 pm
The European Commission announced that it made several unannounced inspections at several companies active in the manufacture, distribution, and retail of consumer electronics throughout the European Union. Although the Commission did not publicly disclose the names of the companies, according to the Associated Press, the companies include Samsung Group, Royal Phillips NV, and Media-Saturn-Holding GmbH. […]
Court Orders Disclosure of Separate Criminal Case Documents in Antitrust MDL
December 19, 2013 – 2:52 pm
In In Re: Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Panasonic Corp. to hand over documents used in a separate grand jury investigation that led Panasonic subsidiary Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. to plead guilty to antitrust charges and pay $10.7 million. The present case is a multidistrict price-fixing suit, […]
Court Approves AMR – US Airways Merger
December 19, 2013 – 2:25 pm
In Carolyn Fjord et al. v. AMR Corp. et al., Southern District of New York Judge Loretta A. Preska affirmed a bankruptcy judge’s decision to allow a merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways to move forward. In their suit, a group of customers claimed that the merger would drive prices up and service down […]