In Lafaro v. New York Cardiothoracic Group PLLC, Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s ruling of summary judgment for a surgeon and his practice – defendants in an antitrust case over access to operating rooms at state-run Westchester Medical Center in New York – finding that although the state-run hospital as a […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Second Circuit Revives Hospital Antitrust Case Reversing State Action Based Summary Judgment
July 15, 2009 – 2:03 pm
Third Circuit Expedites Robinson-Patman Appeal, But Stays Injunction
July 15, 2009 – 2:01 pm
In Feesers Inc. v. Michael Foods Inc. et al., 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, while expediting the appeal filed by Michael Foods Inc., stayed an injunction related to a contempt finding against Michael Foods, issued by the Middle District of Pennsylvania Judge Sylvia Rambo. The injunction and contempt finding stem from an order issued by Judge Rambo […]
Patent Reverse Payments Involving Cipro
July 8, 2009 – 5:37 pm
Update July 2009: In a similar Second Circuit case, the court requested the views of the Department of Justice. During the Bush administration, the DOJ had been at odds with the FTC over reverse payments, with the Commission asserting that such payments were presumptively illegal and the DOJ maintaining a more permissive view. In its […]
DuPont Files Antitrust Counter-claim Against Monsanto
July 7, 2009 – 8:47 am
In this District of Missouri litigation, DuPont has fired back in response to Monsanto’s patent infringement suit with a counter-claim alleging that Monsanto is seeking to monopolize the market for herbicide resistant corn and soybean. Monsanto claims that DuPont’s use of its Round-up Ready crops in conjunction with other anti-herbicidetechnology infringes Monsanto’s patent. DuPont denies the […]
Class Action Challenging Steel Manufacturer Production Cuts Survives Motion to Dismiss
June 16, 2009 – 2:27 pm
In a Northern District of Illinois case, a class of steel purchasers allege that steel producers conspired to cut production in order to support prices. The defendants sought to dismiss the complaint for failing to adequately allege conspiratorial activity. The court held that whether the defendants acted unilaterally or in tandum was a fact question […]
Printer Ink Cartridge Patent Suit Spurs Antitrust Counterclaim
June 9, 2009 – 1:57 pm
In Seiko Epson Corp. et al. v. Glory South Software Manufacturing Inc. et al. Seiko Epson Corp. has been hit with an antitrust counterclaim in its patent infringement litigation against China’s Nenistar Technology and other printer supply manufacturers over ink cartridges. The counterclaim alleges that Seiko Epson has patented features in its ink cartridges that […]
9th Circuit Revives Web Domain Name Case
June 9, 2009 – 1:08 pm
A group calling itself the Coalition for ICANN Transparency, Inc. brought antitrust claims against Verisign, Inc., the sole entity licensed by ICANN to register .com and .net domain names. The district court dismissed the case, but the 9th Circuit reversed, holding that the complaint adequately stated antitrust claims. All parties agreed that as a practical […]
Ticketmaster Settles Antitrust Dispute
June 2, 2009 – 2:46 pm
In 2007, the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team and Ticketmater rival Flash Seats LLC filed an antitrust action against Ticketmaster. The complaint alleged that Ticketmaster used its substantial market power to unlawfully restrain competition by enforcing its exclusive contract with the Cavaliers to block the basketball team for using Flash Seats as a ticket reseller. Last September, Ticketmaster […]
Whole Foods Merger: Market Definition & Marginal Consumers
June 1, 2009 – 2:50 pm
Update June 2009: The FTC has granted final approval to the proposed settlement. Update March 2009: The parties have reached a settlement allowing the merger to move forward with Whole Foods agreeing to divest the intellectual property in the Wild Oats brand, 13 stores, and the leases and assests of 19 closed stores. A divestiture […]
California Title Insurance Price-Fixing Case Dismissed
May 22, 2009 – 1:59 pm
In Lynn Barton et al. v. Fidelity National Financial Inc. et al., the Northern District of California Judge Jeffrey S. White has dismissed without prejudice, the consolidated class action alleging price-fixing in the California title insurance industry. Guided by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and rejecting plaintiffs’ argument that Twombly’s plausibility standard is […]