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: US Federal Courts
Failure to Disclose Patent to Standard Setting Organization Can Be Monopolization
October 15, 2009 – 11:44 am
In Actividentity Corp. v. Intercede Group PLC et al., Northern District of California Judge Vaugh R. Walker has refused to dismiss smart card maker Intercede Ltd.’s allegations that rival Actividentity Corp. monopolized the relevant market by failing to disclose to a standards-setting organization a patent covering technology for remotely updating the devices. The court held […]
MP3 Maker Claim Against Apple Dismissed
October 6, 2009 – 12:56 pm
In Luxpro Corp. v. Apple Inc., Western District of Arkansas Judge Harry F. Barnes handed down an order dismissing Taiwanese MP3 player maker Luxpro Corp.’s claims against Apple Inc., for attempted common law monopolization and for interfering with Luxpro’s business partners by sending letters demanding that they cease all business relations with Luxpro and filing groundless litigation. The […]
Hospitals May Maintain Exclusive Practice & Exclude Outside Doctors
October 6, 2009 – 12:53 pm
In Four Corners Nephrology Associates PC et al. v. Mercy Medical Center, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s decision, ruling that Colorado’s Mercy Medical Center did not break federal or state antitrust laws when it gave a single provider exclusive rights to in-house nephrology services, because the hospital had no antitrust […]
Dole Not a Pineapple Monopoly
October 6, 2009 – 12:49 pm
In In Re: Pineapple Antitrust Litigation, Southern District of New York Judge Richard M. Berman handed Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. an emphatic victory against retailers and consumers that had accused the company of exploiting monopoly power in the market for extra sweet pineapple by using sham patent litigation since 1996 to gain a stranglehold and […]
Chicago Nurses Can’t Show Classwide Injury
October 1, 2009 – 2:21 pm
In Reed v. Advocate Health Care et al., Northern District of Illinois Judge John F. Grady, has denied class certification to a group of nurses who had sued four separate hospital systems in the greater Chicago area alleging that the institutions colluded to suppress their wages. In their suit, the nurses claimed that five Chicago-area […]
Court Permits Antitrust Attack on County Imposition of Exclusive Ambulance Territories
October 1, 2009 – 2:18 pm
In Patriot Ambulance Service Inc. et al. v. Genesee, County of et al., and Swartz Ambulance Service Inc. v. Genesee County of et al., Eastern District of Michigan Judge Marianne O. Battani dismissed several defendants and the monetary damages claims, but permitted federal antitrust claims to proceed. Two ambulance service companies’ are challenging a Michigan county’s ordinance dividing […]
ATM Fee Challenged Dismissed With Leave to Amend
September 21, 2009 – 9:05 pm
In In re: ATM Fee Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of California Judge Charles R. Breyer has dismissed a putative antitrust action over fees charged by financial institutions in First Data Corp.’s ATM network, but giving the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their claims. The complaint alleged a conspiracy to (1) fix interchange fees that the banks pay […]
Court Upholds Jury Verdict Finding Petition in Opposition to Generic Drugs Baseless
September 21, 2009 – 3:25 pm
In Louisiana Drug Co. Inc. v. Sanofi-Aventis et al., Southern District of New York Judge Harold Baer Jr.refused to overturn a jury verdict or grant Louisiana Wholesale Drug Co. Inc. a new trial in an antitrust class action filed by the drug wholesaler. The case accused Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC of submitting a sham citizen petition to […]
Golf Package Monopolization Case Plaintiffs Must Show Inter-state Effects
September 10, 2009 – 9:41 am
In Mississippi Hotel & Lodging Association v. Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Course Association et al., Southern District of Mississippi Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden has refused to dismiss a Mississippi hotel group’s claim against a local golf association alleging that the association sought to monopolize the golf package and hotel market by deterring hotels from participating in the MHLA’s golf voucher program and by running […]