In Darba Enterprises Inc. v. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. et al., District of Nevada Judge Hicks dismissed the plaintiffs’ antitrust claim arguing that the defendant’s trademark enforcement suit against the plaintiff constituted anticompetitive activity. Amica had sued alleging that Darba violated its trademark by using it in websites that inaccurately suggested that Darba could provide […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Payment Card Re-load Fee Fixing Not Per Se Illegal
August 16, 2012 – 1:01 pm
In nFinanSe Inc. v. Interactive Communications International Inc., Northern District of Georgia Judge Amy Totenberg dismissed the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant violated the antitrust laws by requiring a set fee to reload payment cards used in the defendant’s network. The plaintiff, a seller of prepaid credit cards, claimed that the defendant, a distributor of […]
Claims Dismissed in Refrigerant Compressor Price Fixing Case
August 16, 2012 – 12:58 pm
In Refrigerant Compressors Antitrust Litigation, Eastern District of Michigan Judge Sean F. Cox dismissed several state antitrust indirect purchaser claims in multidistrict litigation alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the refrigerant compressor market. The court found that indirect purchase plaintiffs must have lived in or suffered an injury in a state to bring indirect purchaser claims […]
Microsoft’s Decision to Withdraw Windows Support for WordPerfect Not Antitrust Conduct
August 7, 2012 – 4:23 pm
In Novell Inc. v. Microsoft Corp, District of Utah Judge J. Frederick Motz granted Microsoft’s motion for judgment on Novell’s eight-year-old claim that the software giant violated the antitrust laws by eliminating certain APIs from Windows that Novell used to run applications such as WordPerfect. The claim had gone to a jury, which was unable […]
Third Circuit and EU: Pay-for-Delay Generic Drug Settlement Can Violate Antitrust Law
August 7, 2012 – 4:20 pm
Update: The Third Circuit has refused to stay its ruling pending Supreme Court review. The defendant sought the stay in hopes of restraining the FTC and private plaintiffs from using the ruling to justify attacks on other drug patent settlements. In In re: K-Dur Antitrust Litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit […]
Court Refuses to Dismiss Accreditation Antitrust Suit
August 6, 2012 – 10:03 pm
In K&S Associates Inc. v. American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Middle District of Tennessee Judge Kevin H. Sharp refused to dismiss radiation therapy calibration laboratory’s suit accusing the American Association of Physicists in Medicine of conspiring to reduce competition in the calibration industry and drive the lab out of business. K&S sued AAPM, alleging […]
DOJ Seeks to Block No Contest Plea in Airline Price-Fixing Case
August 6, 2012 – 8:17 pm
In U.S. v. Florida West International Airways Inc. et al., The U.S. Department of Justice urged the judge weighing a no-contest plea by Florida West International Airways Inc., in a criminal price-fixing case, to explain his decision. In this case, the DOJ has accused Florida West and its former vice president of conspiring to rig shipment […]
ATM Price Fixing Case Dismissed
August 6, 2012 – 3:16 pm
In In re: ATM Fee Antitrust Litigation, the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a long-running class action against Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and other banks alleging that ATM interchange fees were the product of an illegal agreement. The court held that bank customer plaintiffs lacked standing to sue for damages because they […]
Credit Card Companies Agree to Settle Merchant Fee Class Action, But Large Class Members Object
August 6, 2012 – 2:58 pm
Update: The court has held that the plaintiffs must formally seek approval of the proposed settlement by October 19, 2012. In In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, the defendants have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement of multidistrict litigation in the Eastern District of New York. Plaintiff merchants filed the […]
Credit Card Companies Agree to Settle Merchant Fee Class Action
July 16, 2012 – 4:04 pm
In In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, the defendants have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement of multidistrict litigation being litigated in the Eastern District of New York. Plaintiff merchants filed the 2005 case alleging that the Visa and MasterCard associations and large banks conspired to increase the fees paid […]