In Burda et al. v. Wendy’s International Inc. et al., Southern District of Ohio Judge George C. Smith has denied a bid by Wendy’s International Inc. to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a franchisee accusing the fast food giant of violating federal antitrust and state breach of contract laws by forcing him to purchase hamburger buns […]
Category Archives: Tying Claims
Court Sorts Out Tying Theories Against Alcon Labs
September 10, 2009 – 9:37 am
Update Sept. 2009: In Synergetics USA Inc. v. Alcon Laboratories Inc. et al., Southern District of New York Judge Denise Cote denied microsurgical device maker Synergetics USA Inc.’s bid to revive its theory of price coercion in an antitrust suit accusing Swiss rival Alcon Inc. of illegal product tying. Judge Cote ruled that Synergetics was […]
Tying Case Against Amazon.com to Proceed
September 10, 2009 – 9:35 am
In Booklocker.com Inc. v. Amazon.com Inc., Maine District Court Judge John A. Woodstock Jr. rejected Amazon.com Inc.’s bid to toss a proposed antitrust class action filed against it by print-on-demand (POD) book publisher Booklocker.com Inc. The case alleges that Amazon improperly tied the use of its Internet site to the printing services of its subsidiary BookSurge […]
Ninth Circuit Throws Out Tying Claim for Failure to Affect a Substantial Volume of Commerce
August 7, 2009 – 12:39 pm
In Curtis Blough v. Holland Realty, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a per se tying claim alleging the tying of realtor services for development to the purchase of undeveloped lots. The court held that even if a tie were shown, the plaintiffs could not prevail because there was no market for the alledged […]
Microsoft Settles Mississippi Browser case of $100 Million
June 17, 2009 – 4:48 pm
The state of Mississippi has reached a settlement worth up to $100 million with Microsoft Corp., the largest cash payment so far in a string of deals the technology giant has struck with states over allegations that it abused its monopoly power by bundling its Internet Explorer and its Windows operating system, thereby shutting rivals […]
Cable Box Litigation Expanded
April 8, 2009 – 2:33 pm
In Jeremy Soso v. Cox Enterprises Inc. et al., Cox has become the latest cable T.V. provider to be hit with a proposed class action suit alleging that the company illegally ties the purchase of its premium services to its cable boxes, in violation of the federal antitrust laws. The complaint filed in the U.S. […]
Tantalum Powder Tying Claim Dismissed on Summary Judgment
March 25, 2009 – 10:48 am
In AVX Corp. et al. v. Cabot Corp., Massachusetts District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns granted Cabot’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the last remaining Sherman Act claim from a five-year old lawsuit filed by AVX. The suit alleged that Cabot tied the purchase of certain tantalum powder to other type of tantalum powder, committing […]