In Mayor and City Council of Baltimore et al. v. Citigroup Inc. et al., Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a class of auction-rate securities investors and in favor of UBS AG and other top banks, finding that the banks’ simultaneous abandonment of the $330 billion ARS market before the financial crisis was a […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Court Dismisses Steel Sheet Antitrust Suit
February 26, 2013 – 3:07 pm
In Stanislaus Food Products Co. v. USS-Posco Industries et al., Eastern District of California Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill granted U.S. Steel Corp., USS-Posco Industries and other steelmakers’ motion for summary judgment in a suit filed against them by tomato cannery Stanislaus Food Products Co. Stanislaus’ suit alleged that the defendants struck a deal in 2006 […]
Pennsylvania Governor Sues NCAA Over Sanctions Against Penn State
February 25, 2013 – 9:05 am
In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Thomas W. Corbett Jr., Governor v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Pennsylvania’s governor, Thomas W. Corbett filed suit against NCAA, claiming the NCAA’s sanctions against Pennsylvania State University (“Penn State”) in response to the sexual abuse scandal surrounding former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, violated antitrust laws and would cause dire economic […]
Refusal to Deal on Patent Licensing Case Dismissed
February 25, 2013 – 9:03 am
In Cascades Computer Innovation LLC v. RPX Corp, Northern District of California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed with leave to amend an antitrust case by Cascades Computer Innovation alleging that several Android device makers had conspired to refuse to deal with it. Cascades alleged that the companies agreed that none of them would engage in […]
Court Dismissed All But Two Claims In Resin Monopoly Suit
February 24, 2013 – 5:11 pm
In DSM Desotech Inc. v. 3D Systems Corp., Northern District of Illinois Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman dismissed allegations that 3D Systems Corp. tried to monopolize the market for 3D printing. Desotech, a resin manufacturer, sued its rival 3D Systems, accusing it of trying to squeeze smaller competitors out of the highly concentrated resin market by […]
Foreign Drug Maker Lacks Antitrust Standing If It Does Not Compete in the U.S.
February 23, 2013 – 5:51 pm
In Ethypharm SA France v. Abbott Laboratories, the Third Circuit held that because Ethypharm chose to license its anti-cholesterol drug Antara for U.S. distribution, rather than entering the US market itself, the plaintiff lacked standing to sue Abbott Laboratories for conspiring to keep Ethypharm’s drug off the market. Ethypharm alleged that Abbott agreed with Reliant […]
GSK Settles Generic Flonase Law Suits
February 23, 2013 – 5:49 pm
In IBEW-NECA Local 505 Health & Welfare Plan et al. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Anita B. Brody approved a settlement between GlaxoSmithKline PLK (GSK) and two groups of plaintiffs. The class action accused the defendant of restraining competition by preventing rivals from marketing generic versions of the allergy medication Flonase. […]
Chiropractic Organization May Not Negotiate Prices for Its Members
February 20, 2013 – 8:28 am
In U.S. v. Oklahoma State Chiropractic Independent Physicians Association, filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Antitrust Division and the defendant association have entered a consent decree preventing an Oklahoma chiropractic association from negotiating joint contracts with insurers that the DOJ believes thwarted competition and drove up prices for consumers. The decree, which must […]
Denial of State Action Exemption is Not an Immediately Appealable Collateral Order
February 11, 2013 – 10:33 am
In Auraria Student Housing v. Campus Village Apartments LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a private party may not immediately appeal a district court’s denial of an argument that the state-action doctrine exempts the defendant’s conduct from antitrust scrutiny. Auraria Student Housing sued its competitor in the Denver housing […]
Court Rejects Double Recovery Claim In LCD Antitrust MDL
February 7, 2013 – 7:09 pm
In Rockwell Automation Inc v. AU Optronics Corporation et al., Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston rejected LG Display Co. Ltd.’s argument that Rockwell Automation Inc.’s state price-fixing claims would lead to duplicative recovery in the multidistrict litigation over liquid crystal display panels. LG brought counterclaims and affirmative defenses against Rockwell’s Wisconsin state law […]