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.
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Standing Question Certified for Review in Sanofi Case
October 14, 2010 – 9:38 am
District of NJ Judge Mary Cooper has issued an order certifying for interlocutory appeal her decision to deny defendant Sanofi’s motion to dismiss the claims against it on the ground that the plaintiff is a “mere distributor” and not a competitor. The court reasoned that there are substantial grounds for difference of opinion on the […]
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 […]
Antitrust Division Sues Credit Card Companies
October 12, 2010 – 1:40 pm
The United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, along with several states’ attorneys general have sued Visa, MasterCard, and American Express alleging that the card systems’ rules prohibiting merchants from offering discounts to consumers who use a particular card brand constitute unreasonable vertical agreements in restraint of trade. The Division simultaneously filed a proposed consent […]
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 […]
Conspiracy to Inflate Auto Insurance Rates Not Exempt From Challenge
September 30, 2010 – 10:44 am
Update September 2010: The Ninth Circuit has denied rehearing. The Ninth Circuit has reversed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging that major auto insurers conspired to use inferior repair parts while telling their customers that they were providing premium repair service that would return cars to “pre-loss” condition. As a result of the conspiracy, […]
Claim that Kitchenaid Monoplized Mixer Attachment Market Dismissed
September 15, 2010 – 4:42 pm
Update September 2010: The court again dismissed the complaint. Although the plaintiff amended the complaint to allege that Kitchenaid sells 80% of stand-up mixers and 90% of the beater attachments for mixers that are sold by the plaintiff, the court held that the complaint failed to identify harm to competition as opposed to harm to […]
Milk Monopolization Case to Move Forward
August 31, 2010 – 4:17 pm
Vermont District Court Judge Christina Reiss refused to dismiss attempted monopolization claims filed by dairy farmers against the Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. and Dean Foods Co. Although questions remained about the product market and whether the statute of limitations was met, the court found the allegations sufficient to move forward. The court did dismiss […]
Class Action Alleges Price Fixing in the Sale of Optical Disc Drives
August 31, 2010 – 3:17 pm
Classes of direct and indirect purchasers have filed suit in the Northern District of California alleging that optical disc drive manufacturers have violated the antitrust laws. The complaint alleges that the defendants agreed to charge higher prices and rig electronic auctions to ensure that the certain price floors were maintained.
Drug Wholesalers Claim Dismissed for Lack of Evidence of Market Power or Conspiracy
August 31, 2010 – 12:10 pm
Update August 2010: The Second Circuit has affirmed this decision. In RxUSA Wholesale Inc. v. Alcon Laboratories Inc. et al., Eastern District of New York Judge Denis R. Hurley has dismissed a $2.3 billion antitrust lawsuit accusing 16 pharmaceutical manufacturers and a group of drug distributors of conspiring to keep RxUSA Wholesale Inc., a secondary […]