District of Delaware Judge Jerome D. Davis has reopened a putative class action against some of the largest providers of offshore helicopter flights to oil rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico. Plaintiff, Superior Offshore Inc., filed an amended complaint that included new evidence of a price-fixing agreement from a confidential witness. Plaintiffs allege PHI […]
Category Archives: Cartel Activity
DOJ Indicts Ex-Florida West Vice-President and Others for Price-Fixing in Air Transportation Industry
January 17, 2011 – 10:35 am
The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, indicted Ex-Florida West Vice President Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo, Luis Agusto Afanador, and Jaime Rueda Sr. in the Southern District of Flordia for conspiracy to restrain trade under the Sherman Act. The conspiracy operated in early 2002, allegedly fixing the prices of peak season fuel and security surcharges for cargo […]
EC Levies $858 Million in Fines Against LCD Manufacturers For Cartel Activity
January 17, 2011 – 12:22 am
The Commission fined six Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) manufacturers $858 million for cartel practices in the manufacture and sale of televisions and computer monitors. According to the Commission, the companies operated the cartel for over four years, agreeing on pricing, future production planning, and capacity utilization. Also, participants held approximately 60 meetings dubbed the “crystal […]
SRAM Class Action to Proceed
January 17, 2011 – 12:21 am
Northern District of California Judge Claudia Wilken denied a motion to decertify a class of direct purchasers of SRAM chips. The judge also denied in part and granted in part defendants’ motion for summary judgment for indirect purchaser claims. Samsung argued in its motion for decertification that the direct purchasers lacked standing because the direct […]
State Law Damages Claims Preempted in RR Fee Fixing Class Action
January 7, 2011 – 2:18 pm
Update December 2010: The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on the preemption issue. Update January 2009: The court dismissed the indirect purchasers’ state law claims, holding that they were preempted by the Staggers Rail Act. Under Federal antitrust law, indirect purchasers may seek injunctive relief but not damages. Many state antitrust laws, by contrast, permit indirect […]
Sulfutic Acid Conspiracy Case to Move Forward
October 14, 2010 – 1:45 pm
Northern District of Ill Judge David Coar has refused to dismiss a claim that sulfuric acid manufacturers responded to shocks to the market with an agreement to reduce output and fix prices. The court did dismiss the case with respect to GAC on the ground that the complaint contained insufficient allegations that it was a […]
ATM Price Fixing Case Dismissed
October 14, 2010 – 12:00 pm
Northern District of California Judge Charles Breyer has granted summary judgment to several banks charged with fixing the interchange fees on ATM transactions. The court held that the plaintiffs, bank customers, were indirect payers of the interchange fees, which are imposed directly on the banks. Although the customers likely bore the brunt of those fees […]
Gulf of Mexico Helicopter Services Case Dismissed
October 14, 2010 – 9:47 am
District of Delaware Judge Legrome Davis has dismissed a putative class action alleging that the three dominant helicopter services providers in the Gulf of Mexico had agreed to increase prices. The court held that the complaint failed to sufficiently allege that the helicopter companies entered an agreement.
Tin Can Price Fixing Case Dismissed
October 12, 2010 – 1:50 pm
Judge Lawrence O’Neil, E.D. CA, dismissed a claim by a tomato canning company against US Steel and a Korean steel manufacturer alleging that the two conspired to monopolize the market for steel used to make tin cans and to monopolize the market. The defendant’s argued that the plaintiff’s price fixing claims for damages were barred […]
Seventh Circuit Upholds Wisconsin Minimum Gas Pricing Regulation
October 5, 2010 – 3:10 pm
The Seventh Circuit overturned an injunction prohibiting Wisconsin from enforcing its minimum gas pricing regulations and remanded with instruction to enter judgment for the state. The plaintiff, Flying J, alleged that the minimum pricing scheme led to a horizontal cartel among gas retailers to raise the price of gas. The trial court sided with Flying […]