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 […]
Category Archives: Vertical Restraints
Court Finds Waiver of Right to Jury Trial in Major Antitrust Damages Case
May 22, 2013 – 7:34 am
In State of Texas et al. v. Penguin Group USA Inc. et al., Southern District of New York Judge Denise Cote has ruled that Penguin Group USA Inc. waived its right to a jury trial on damages claims brought by a group of 30 states against Apple and several publishing companies for fixing e-book prices. […]
Kanas Overturns Judicially Created Per Se Rule for Resale Price Maintenance
May 21, 2013 – 5:30 pm
In a May 2012 decision, the Kansas Supreme Court had rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Leegin v. PSKS that overturned the per se rule under the federal antitrust laws against minimum resale price maintenance in favor of the rule of reason. The Kansas high court, by contrast, held that, under the state’s own […]
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 […]
Marketer’s Antitrust Suit Against DirecTV Does Not Violate Free Speech
October 16, 2012 – 1:19 pm
In Basic Your Best Buy Inc. v. DirecTV Inc., a California Court of Appeal refused to dismiss a $83.7 million lawsuit against DirecTV Inc. The plaintiff, a marketer of DirecTV products, accused DirecTV of conspiring to restrain trade by suddenly ending its contract, threatening litigation, warning other DirecTV dealers not to buy the company’s assets, […]
Payment Card Re-load Fee Fixing Not Per Se Illegal
August 16, 2012 – 1:01 pm
In nFinanSe Inc. v. Interactive Communications International Inc., Northern District of Georgia Judge Amy Totenberg dismissed the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant violated the antitrust laws by requiring a set fee to reload payment cards used in the defendant’s network. The plaintiff, a seller of prepaid credit cards, claimed that the defendant, a distributor of […]
Publishers Settle State E-book Litigation
May 30, 2012 – 4:19 pm
Southern District of New York Judge Denise L. Cote stayed multidistrict litigation against HarperCollins Publishers LLC and Hachette Book Group Inc. after the two publishers agreed to settle with the 15 states and Puerto Rico that had filed antitrust claims similar to those filed by the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, against Apple […]
Kansas Supreme Court Saves Fashion Accessories Price-Fixing Suit
May 16, 2012 – 11:59 am
In O’Brien et al. v. Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc., Kansas Supreme Court overturned a state district court decision to grant Brighton Collectibles, a unit of Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc., summary judgment in the state antitrust consumer class action suit. In their suit, the plaintiffs allege that Brighton’s policy, requiring all of its retailers […]
State Argued For Broad Prohibition of Resale Price Maintenance Under State Law
May 1, 2012 – 4:48 pm
In People of the State of New York v. Tempur-Pedic International Inc., New York State is appealing a decision dismissing a case challenging Tempur-Pedic’s policy of informing retailers that it stop selling to them, with limited exceptions, if they undercut the mattrace manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Although federal antitrust law permits such a policy, the […]
Direct Purchaser Multidistrict Antitrust Litigation Over Milk Prices Dismissed
March 30, 2012 – 9:51 am
In Food Lion LLC et al. v. Dean Foods Co et al., Eastern District ofTennessee Judge J. Ronnie Greer, granted defendants’ Dean Foods Co., Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., and others’, motion for summary judgment, thereby dismissing a direct purchaser multidistrict antitrust litigation over milk prices. In their suit, the retail sellers of processed milk, […]