Southern District of Mississippi Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., has refused to dismiss price fixing claims against major plywood producers Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, and Louisiana Pacific with respect to purchases of (1) plywood made after November 2004 and (2) OSB. Claims based on earlier plywood purchases were deemed barred by the expiration of the statute of limitations. […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Drug Retailers Allege Conspiracy to Block Generic Provigil
March 20, 2010 – 3:32 pm
Update March 2011: The court granted plaintiff Apotex’s motion for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement on one of the two patents-in-suit despite the defendant’s admisison of non-infringement. The court commented that a ruling on both patents-in-suit was required to trigger the 180 day exclusivity period under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Update Spring 2010: E.D. PA Judge […]
Tax Preparation E-filing Agreement Exempt From Antitrust Scrutiny
March 18, 2010 – 1:21 pm
The Third Circuit held that an agreement among tax preparers, including Intuit, H&R Block Digital Tax Solutions, and the Free File Alliance with the IRS limiting the number of free e-filers to 50% of all taxpayers could not violate the antitrust laws because it constituted exempt petitioning of a government agency. The court rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that an […]
Fines Imposed in Ice Cartel Case
March 18, 2010 – 1:06 pm
Southern District of Ohio Judge Herman Weber has imposed $9 million dollar fines on Home City Ice Co. and Artic Glacier International for conspiring to fix the price for prepackaged ice in the Detroit area. The fines constitute a significant reduction from the sentencing guidelines in response to the parties cooperation with the investigation. Reddy […]
Optometrist’s Antitrust Counterclaims Dismissed in a Contact Lens Trademark Infringement Suit
March 14, 2010 – 2:35 pm
In Ciba Vision Corp. v. De Spirito, Northern District of Georgia Judge J. Owen Forrester has dismissed an optometrist’s antitrust and other counterclaims in a trademark infringement suit brought by eye care company Ciba Vision Corp., holding that the defendant failed to sufficiently allege that Ciba engaged in any type of conspiracy in violation of […]
Carbon Fiber Price Fixing Suit Is Allowed To Proceed
March 14, 2010 – 1:44 pm
In Hexcel Corp. v. Ineos Polymers Inc., Central District of California Judge Mariana Pfaelzer denied carbon fiber manufacturer Ineo Polymers Inc.’s motion to dismiss a price-fixing suit brought by rival Hexcel Corp., rejecting Ineos’ claims that Hexcel lacked standing to bring the suit and that Hexcel’s claims were time-barred. The court held that although the […]
Second Circuit Urges En Banc Review While Upholding Reverse Payment Drug Settlement
March 7, 2010 – 10:20 am
Update March 2011: The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari without explanation. Update: The Second Circuit has denied drug purchasers request for en banc review of the decision upholding a reverse payment settlement between a patented drug manufacturer and a generic drug manufacturer. The Second Circuit in Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation held that it was […]
AT&T Exclusive Phone, TV, Internet Deals with Apartment Buildings Not Anticompetitive
February 27, 2010 – 9:57 pm
The Fifth Circuit has rejected a class challenge to AT&T exclusive dealing agreements with buildings to provide a so-called Triple Play of telephone, internet, and television services. The court rejected the claim on the ground that the plaintiffs allegation that a single apartment building could constitute a relevant geographic market was too narrow. Although plaintiffs […]
Georgia Federal Court Upholds Reverse Payment Drug Patent Settlement
February 27, 2010 – 9:54 pm
In a multi-district consolidation, Judge Thrash, Northern District of Georgia, ruled that reverse payment settlements between Solvay Pharmaceuticals and generic drug makers involving the testosterone supplement AndroGel were legal. The Federal Trade Commission and private plaintiffs had alleged that the settlements were anticompetitive because they constituted payments in exchange for keeping generic competition off the […]