In Hewlett-Packard Co. v. LG Electronics Inc. et al., Hewlett-Packard Co. sued LG Electronics, Koninklijke Philips NV, Pioneer Corp., and various subsidiaries for their alleged involvement in a massive optical disc drive (“ODD”) price-fixing conspiracy. In its suit, HP claims that defendants violated the Sherman Act and California antitrust laws when they shared confidential business […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Court Orders Tricleer Antitrust Suit to Proceed to Discovery
October 29, 2013 – 2:00 pm
In Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. et al. v. Apotex Inc. et al., New Jersey District Court Judge Noel L. Hillman denied Actelion Pharmaceutical Ltd.’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and to dismiss defendants’ counterclaims in Actelion’s lawsuit over its blood pressure medication Tricleer. Actelion sued several generic drug makers, claiming that antitrust laws don’t require […]
Court Refuses to Dismiss Iron Pipe Fittings Price-Fixing Suit
October 18, 2013 – 3:08 pm
In In re: Ductile Iron Pipe Fittings Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, New Jersey District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson refused to dismiss indirect purchasers’ class action against McWane Inc. and several other manufacturers, importers, and sellers of ductile iron pipe fittings, accusing the companies of fixing the products’ prices. While the court dismissed plaintiffs’ unjust […]
Court Agrees to Stay $1.06 Billion Judgment, Pending an Appeal
October 18, 2013 – 2:44 pm
In In Re Urethane Antitrust Litigation, Kansas District Court Judge John W. Lungstrum stayed a $1.06 billion class action judgment against Dow Chemical Co. while it appeals the decision. The class action was part of the multidistrict litigation that purchasers of polyether polyol brought against Dow and several other companies, including Bayer AG, BASF SE and Huntsman International LLC., […]
DOJ Breaks Up More Than Dozen Simultaneous International Auto Parts Price-Fixing Conspiracies
October 18, 2013 – 2:19 pm
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that nine Japanese-based auto parts makers have been fined $740 million and two executives have pleaded guilty to their roles in international price-fixing conspiracies that increased the cost of cars sold in the U.S. The effort was the largest criminal investigation the Department of Justice’s antitrust division has ever […]
Tenth Circuit Dismisses Software Developer’s Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft
October 18, 2013 – 1:56 pm
In Novell v. Microsoft Corp., Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed software developer Novell Inc.’s lawsuit against Microsoft Inc., alleging that Microsoft blocked Novell from the market in the 1990s by cutting compatibility with its applications. The ruling affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to Microsoft, holding that Novell couldn’t show that Microsoft’s […]
FTC Considering Investigating Patent Trolls
September 22, 2013 – 9:11 am
Patent trolls, which call themselves non-practicing entities (NPE), are companies that acquire patents with no intent to practice the patented technology. Instead, they seek out potential infringers and demand royalties. These entities argue that they perform an efficient service in ensuring that inventors receive a return on their inventive effort. That return, NPE’s contend, increases […]
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Class Arbitration Waiver Agreements
September 22, 2013 – 9:10 am
In American Express Co. et al. v. Italian Colors Restaurant et al., the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a class arbitration waiver agreement, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) bars courts from invalidating class action arbitration waivers. The Second Circuit had held that the agreement in this case was unenforceable because plaintiffs’ costs to arbitrate […]
Court May Not Rely on Defendant’s Allegation of Unilateral Conduct to Dismiss at Pleading Stage of a Conspiracy Case
September 22, 2013 – 9:08 am
In Evergreen Partnering Group Inc. et al. v. Pactiv Corp. et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that in a refusal-to-deal case a plaintiff can survive a motion to dismiss by alleging the basic contours of a plausible conspiracy. The plaintiff alleged that a group of defendants conspired not to […]
Court Dismisses Antitrust Suit Over Beer Brewery Merger Deal
September 20, 2013 – 2:24 pm
In Edstrom et al. v. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Northern District of California Judge Maxine Chesney dismissed a group of consumers’ antitrust suit against Anheuser-Busch InBev over its $20.1 billion acquisition of Grupo Modelo. In June 2012, Anheuser-Busch announced plans to acquire Modelo. The DOJ sued to block the deal, in fear that removing Modelo from […]