In Willow Creek Fuels Inc. v. Farm & Home Oil Co. et al., Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge C. Darnell Jones II has dismissed antitrust claims brought by bankrupt Willow Creek Fuels Inc. in a $25 million lawsuit accusing a former supplier Farm & Home Oil Co., of breaking distribution contracts, merging with a Willow […]
Category Archives: Standard for Alleging Conspiracy
Coastal Shipping Cartel Civil Case Dismissed Without Prejudice
August 23, 2009 – 11:10 am
Update August 2009: Judge Thomas Zilly, Western District of Washington, dismissed a private civil action alleging a conspiracy to increase prices in Pacific shipping routes. The court held that the plaintiffs allegations of parallel price increases in a market with rising fuel costs and guilty pleas by executives relating to shipping in another geographic area […]
Court Dismisses Lumber Cartel Complaint on Twombly Grounds
August 20, 2009 – 2:36 pm
In Bailey Lumber & Supply Co. et al. v. Georgia-Pacific Corp. et al., Southern District of Mississippi Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. has approved a bid by building products manufacturers Georgia-Pacific Co., Weyerhaeuser Co., and Louisiana-Pacific Corp., to dismiss claims of an antitrust conspiracy to fix prices for plywood. The plaintiffs, Bailey Lumber & Supply Co. and […]
Transpacific Air Travel Price Fixing MDL Initiated
August 7, 2009 – 11:18 am
Multi-district civil litigation is moving forward in the Northern District of California under the name In re: Transpacific Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation. The recently amended complaint now alleges that nearly 20 airlines participated in a conspiracy to fix transpacific prices from 2004 to 2007. The complaint is said to include extraordinary detail on the lockstep imposition […]
House Sub-Committee Reports Bill to Overturn Leegin Leather
July 30, 2009 – 11:06 am
Update July 2009: The Courts and Competition Policy sub-committee of the House Judiciary Committee reported out a bill that would reverse Leegin and restore the per se rule. Although the current version had no exceptions, representatives generally supporting the measure also expressed support for limiting provisions that would permit Resale Price Maintenance in circumstances likely […]
Nurse Wage Fixing Case Survives Motion to Dismiss
July 15, 2009 – 2:46 pm
Update July 2009: The court has certified a class of per diem nurses, but refused to certify a separate class of traveling nurses on the ground that their fee arrangements differed significantly more and thus common questions did not predominate. In Jane Doe et al. v. Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association et al., Arizona District […]
Class Action Challenging Steel Manufacturer Production Cuts Survives Motion to Dismiss
June 16, 2009 – 2:27 pm
In a Northern District of Illinois case, a class of steel purchasers allege that steel producers conspired to cut production in order to support prices. The defendants sought to dismiss the complaint for failing to adequately allege conspiratorial activity. The court held that whether the defendants acted unilaterally or in tandum was a fact question […]
Municipal Derivatives Action Dismissed
June 9, 2009 – 1:28 pm
In In Re: Municipal Derivatives Antitrust Litigation, Southern District of New York Judge Victor Marrero tossed out claims against 34 of the nation’s largest financial institutions accused of fixing prices of municipal derivatives in multidistrict litigation brought by over a dozen municipalities. The Court ruled that plaintiffs did not provide sufficient evidence for their allegations of […]
California Title Insurance Price-Fixing Case Dismissed
May 22, 2009 – 1:59 pm
In Lynn Barton et al. v. Fidelity National Financial Inc. et al., the Northern District of California Judge Jeffrey S. White has dismissed without prejudice, the consolidated class action alleging price-fixing in the California title insurance industry. Guided by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and rejecting plaintiffs’ argument that Twombly’s plausibility standard is […]
Court Certifies Twombly Question for Immediate Appeal
April 14, 2009 – 1:53 pm
In March 2009, Judge Christopher Connor, M.D. P.A., denied defendants’ motion to dismiss price fixing allegations against leading chocolate makers. The court held that the complaint sufficient alleged a conspiracy under Twombly. Defendants requested that the court certify the question for appeal. The court has now agreed to do so, explaining that its conclusion that Twombly […]