In Solyndra LLC v. Suntech Power Holdings Co. et al., bankrupt solar power company Solyndra filed an antitrust action in a Northern District of California alleging that Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. and two other Chinese companies conspired to drive American manufacturers from the market. Solyndra, which is famous for failing after having received a […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Failed Solar Panel Company Alleges Anticompetitive Dumping into US Market
November 13, 2012 – 12:37 pm
Federal Circuit to Decide Whether Patent Fraud Antitrust Claims Can Be Asserted Independently of Infringement Claims and Amended Complaint Upheld in Related Flash Memory Monopolization Challenge
November 9, 2012 – 9:19 am
In Ritz Camera & Image LLC v. SanDisk Corp., the Federal Circuit will decide whether a firm that is not at risk of being sued for patent infringement can prosecute an antitrust claim based on fraudulently obtained patent. Defendant SanDisk Corp. argued that an affirmative decision would “open the floodgates” to litigation. The putative class […]
Avery Dennison & 3M Scrap Division Purchase Plans
November 7, 2012 – 11:54 am
After initially indicating that they would restructure their deal in light of Department of Justice antitrust concerns, Avery Dennison Corp. and 3M Co. have now decided to abandon 3M’s proposed purchase of Avery Dennison’s office and consumer products business division. The DOJ claimed that the deal would eliminate 3M’s main rival and give the giant […]
FTC Closes Investigation Into Several Drug Patent Deals
November 6, 2012 – 2:05 pm
The Federal Trade Commission has ended its investigation of settlements involving Bayer’s Yasmin birth control drug between Bayer Schering Pharma AG and Barr Laboratories Inc. The investigation stemmed from an agreement between Barr, which was acquired by Teva for $9 billion in 2008, in which Barr was granted the right to market a generic version […]
AndroGel Drug Patent Litigation Not a Sham
October 31, 2012 – 3:48 pm
In In Re: AndroGel Antitrust Litigation (No. II), Northern District of Georgia judge Thomas W. Thrash granted defendants summary judgment on antitrust claims alleging that Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed sham patent infringement litigation to delay the entry of generic Androgel. The court had previously dismissed a claim challenging a reverse payment agreement between Solvay and […]
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 […]
LCD Manufacturers Move to Dismiss Price-Fixing Claims Based on ATM Fee Ruling
October 29, 2012 – 10:00 pm
In In re: TFT-LCD Flat Panel Antitrust Litigation, Toshiba, Corp. moved to dismiss Best Buy Co. Inc.’s liquid crystal display (LCD) price-fixing claims, on the ground that Best Buy lacks standing to seek antitrust damages under the Ninth Circuit’s recent ATM fee antitrust ruling. In July, the Ninth Circuit rejected claims brought by consumers over […]
Supreme Court Will Address Antitrust State Action Exemption
October 24, 2012 – 8:28 am
The state action exemption to the federal antitrust laws holds that governments do not violate the antitrust laws, firms do. State laws with anticompetitive impacts thus do not run afoul of federal law when they restrain trade even though the same conduct by private actors would violate the law. The exemption is entirely judge-made and […]
Hospital Lacks Standing To Seek Damages in a Challenge to a Tying Arrangment Because It Purchased the Bundle Indirectly
October 22, 2012 – 10:24 am
In Lakeland Regional Medical Center Inc. v. Astellas Pharma US Inc. et al., Middle District of Florida Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington held that a Florida hospital lacked standing to sue for damages, allegedly totally $867 million, in an antitrust class action accusing Astellas Pharma of using a patented testing process to restrain competition in […]