In Radio Music Licensing Committee Inc. v. SESAC Inc. et al., plaintiffs have filed suit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging that performing rights organization SESAC Inc. monopolized thousands of songs and charged supra-competitive royalties for blanket licenses. The case is the second antitrust challenge to these licensing practices. The plaintiff alleges that SESAC […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Failed Solar Panel Company Alleges Anticompetitive Dumping into US Market
November 13, 2012 – 12:37 pm
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Court Refuses to Dismiss Advertising Antitrust Suit
October 16, 2012 – 3:05 pm
In Nexstar Broadcasting Inc. v. Granite Broadcasting Corp. et al., Northern District of Indiana Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. denied Granite Broadcasting Corp.’s motion to reconsider a denial of its motion to dismiss and a request to certify an interlocutory appeal. In its suit, Nexstar accused Granite of restricting competition for local spot advertising in […]
Tentative Settlement in Comcast Monpolization Class Action Not Enforceable; Supreme Court Review to Move Forward
October 12, 2012 – 4:38 pm
In Behrend et al. v. Comcast Corp. et al., Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge John R. Padova refused to compel Comcast to follow through on a settlement to which the parties had tentatively agreement before the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review a class certification issue in Comcast Corp. et al. v. Caroline Behrend […]
Filed Rate Doctrine Bars Challenge to Energy Price Set at Auction
October 11, 2012 – 9:09 am
In Simon v. KeySpan Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the dismissal of the plaintiffs claims on the ground that the filed rate doctrine blocked a consumer class action alleging that KeySpan used a complex financial transaction to overcharge New York City electricity buyers. The filed rate doctrine holds […]
Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act Does Not Bar Damages Claim Where LCDs Passed From the US to Mexico for Processing Before Being Sold in the US
October 8, 2012 – 2:19 pm
In In re: TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston rejected the defendants’ argument that the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act barred some claims. The defendants contended that the bulk of one plaintiff’s damages were based on LCD products that had been shipped to a Mexican arm of the plaintiff. […]