In Sidibe et al. v. Sutter Health et al., Northern District of California Judge Laurel Beeler dismissed without prejudice a proposed class action alleging that Sutter Health restrained competition in medical services. The plaintiffs alleged that Sutter thwarted competition and increased its dominance by imposing tying and exclusive dealing arrangements on health plans that required them to […]
Category Archives: Exclusive Dealing
U.S. Supreme Court Allows Attack on Loyalty Discounts to Move Forward
June 19, 2013 – 9:47 am
In Eaton Corp. v. ZF Meritor LLC et al., the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari, refusing to review a Third Circuit decision upholding the imposition of antitrust liability on a truck transmission manufacturer for encouraging its customers to deal with it exclusively by offering low prices. Most federal circuit courts that have considered whether loyalty […]
New Challenge to Exclusive NFL Apparel License
November 17, 2012 – 12:39 pm
In Patrick Dang v. San Francisco Forty Niners Ltd., the plaintiff has filed a putative class action in the Northern District of California alleging that the exclusive license between the NFL, NFL teams, and sports apparel maker Reebok International Ltd. monopolized the market for team apparel. Although that agreement has expired, the NFL currently has […]
Conditioning Rebates on Percentage Purchased May Violate the Antitrust Laws Even If Prices are Above Cost
October 30, 2012 – 11:32 am
In ZF Meritor v. Eaton Corp., a divided panel of the Third Circuit upheld a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff truck transmission manufacturer against its competitor Eaton Corp. The complaint alleged that Eaton violated the antitrust laws by entering agreements with each large truck manufacturer that contained the following provisions: (1) Conditional rebate […]
EU Court of Justice Affirms Antitrust Fine Against Recycler
May 1, 2012 – 4:51 pm
The EU Court of Justice affirmed a €24 million ($31.7 million) antitrust fine against recycling firm Tomra Systems ASA. The European Commission had found that the company used a system of exclusivity agreements with large retailers to restrain potential entrants into the market for automated machines that dispense cash in exchange for empty bottles. The […]
Antitrust Counterclaim Vs. Nation’s Largest Milk Seller Survives
July 1, 2011 – 1:19 pm
Southern District of Florida Judge Marcia G. Cooke denied a motion to dismiss a counterclaim by milk distributor McCowtree Brothers Dairy Inc. that exclusive supply agreements between milk processor Dean Foods and milk producers violate the Clayton Act. The agreements are alleged to have resulted in Dean’s monopoly of the south Florida milk market, higher […]
Heavy Duty Manual Transmission Verdict Upheld
May 12, 2011 – 1:35 pm
District of Delaware Judge Sue Robinson denied defendant Eaton Corp.’s motion for judgment seeking to overturn a jury verdict finding that Eaton violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs, transmission manufacturer competitors ZF and Meritor, argued that Eaton took anticompetitive actions to foreclose the plaintiffs from the manual transmission market. These […]
Class Certified in iPhone Exclusive Dealing & Monopolization Case
January 26, 2011 – 2:46 pm
Update January 2010: Northern District of California Judge James Ware dismissed with leave to amend a complaint filed by an indirect purchaser alleging that Apple charged anticompetitive fees for music that could play on non-Apple devices and had issued updates that reduced the value of i-pods because they limited the ability of the Apple device […]
EC Investigates Whether Google Unfairly Promoted Its Own Services Over Its Competitors’ Services
January 17, 2011 – 12:19 am
The EU opened formal proceedings against Google to determine if it had utilized market power to push down the rank of other search and price comparison sites. The investigation was opened after the Commission received several complaints from other search providers alleging that Google was unfairly favoring its own search results. The EC will also […]
Medical Imaging Conspiracy Case to Move Forward
August 17, 2010 – 11:06 am
Eastern District of NY Judge Leonard Wexler has denied a motion to dismiss filed by defendant CoareCore in a suit alleging that the company entered exclusive agreements with most large health insurance plans in the region, effectively excluding the plaintiff from a large portion of the market. The defendant argued that the case was time […]