In In re: TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston has decided to allow some liquid crystal display manufacturers charged with price fixing to assert a pass-on defense. The defense contends that the plaintiffs cannot recover damages because they passed on alleged overcharges to their customers. Although the pass-on defense […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Flat Panel Antitrust Litigation Judge Allows Pass-On Defense Under State Law
February 5, 2013 – 6:25 pm
False Advertising Claim Based on Amazon Use of App Store Dismissed, but Trademark Litigation Continues
February 5, 2013 – 11:37 am
In Apple Inc. v. Amazon.com Inc., Northern District of California Judge Phyllis Hamilton dismissed a false advertising claim in which Apple accused Amazon of infringing its “App Store” mark. Amazon used that name to describe a section of its website selling applications for Android devices. Apple alleged that the use of use of the mark […]
Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Steel Distributor’s Boycott Suit
January 29, 2013 – 11:22 am
In MM Steel LP v. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. et al., Southern District of Texas Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt, denied a motion to dismiss a suit filed by MM Steel LP, a steel distributor, accusing a group of steel distributors and producers of conspiring to boycott MM Steel and drive it from the market. […]
California Supreme Court Refused to Hear Pharmacies’ Price-Fixing Case
January 28, 2013 – 5:06 pm
In Clayworth v. Pfizer, the California Supreme Court denied a petition to rehear a consolidated antitrust suit, filed by a group of pharmacies, accusing Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and other drug makers of conspiring to inflate drug prices in the U.S. and keeping lower-priced Canadian drugs off the market. The defendants originally won at the […]
EU Adviser Says A Parent Company Can Be Held Liable For Its Subsidiary’s Cartel Activity
January 28, 2013 – 5:05 pm
In European Commission v. Stichting Administratiekantoor Protielje and Cosselin Group NV, Advocate General Julianne Kokott, the chief legal adviser to the Europe’s highest appeals court, issued an opinion that a parent company can be held liable for the cartel activity of its subsidiaries regardless of whether the parent actually conducts business itself. This recommendation came […]
Senators Reintroduce Antitrust Violation Whistleblower Protection Bill
January 28, 2013 – 2:26 pm
Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley reintroduced previously stalled Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, which would extend whistleblower protections to employees who give federal prosecutors information in criminal antitrust investigations. The act would amend the Antitrust Criminal Penalties Enforcement and Reform Act (“ACPERA”), which provides leniency to guilty parties who report criminal cartels and cooperate with […]
Court Denies Motions to Dismiss In Coating Seller’s Antitrust Suit
January 28, 2013 – 12:10 pm
In JTS Choice Enterprises Inc. v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Co. et al., Colorado District Court Judge William J. Martinez denied motions to dismiss filed by DuPont Co. and Metro Paint Supplies Inc. in an antitrust suit filed by JTS Choice Enterprises Inc., accusing DuPont of using its market power to wrongfully divert […]
Court Rejects Double Recovery Claim In LCD Antitrust MDL
January 28, 2013 – 11:42 am
In Rockwell Automation Inc v. AU Optronics Corporation et al., Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston rejected LG Display Co. Ltd.’s argument that Rockwell Automation Inc.’s state price-fixing claims would lead to duplicative recovery in the multidistrict litigation over liquid crystal display panels. LG brought counterclaims and affirmative defenses against Rockwell’s Wisconsin state law […]
Court Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against OPEC for Lack of Proper Service
January 24, 2013 – 5:06 pm
In Freedom Watch Inc. v. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, District of Columbia Judge Reggie B. Walton dismissed the latest antitrust lawsuit against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, holding that plaintiff Freedom Watch, Inc. did not properly serve OPEC. In its suit, Freedom Watch accused OPEC of violating U.S. law by fixing […]
Court Dismisses the Claims of the Last Two Plaintiffs In An Antitrust Suit Against Wholesale Grocery Suppliers
January 24, 2013 – 2:33 pm
In Wholesale Grocery Products Antitrust Litigation, Minnesota District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and dismissed the claims of the last two plaintiffs in a suit alleging wholesale grocery suppliers SuperValu Inc. and C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. conspired to inflate prices by entering into a non-compete agreement. The consolidated antitrust […]