Minding Your Business

Proskauer’s perspective on developments and trends in commercial litigation.

Tag Archives: Antitrust Laws

The Seventh Circuit Asks, “What’s Wrong With Having Lots of Patents?”

The answer? Not much, in itself. If one patent is good, 132 is probably fine too. That was Judge Easterbrook’s reasoning in a recent decision addressing indirect purchasers’ antitrust challenge to AbbVie’s so-called “patent thicket” of 132 patents around the blockbuster drug Humira, arguing the sheer number of patents blocked would-be biosimilar competition. But “if … Continue Reading

CLERA or Murkier: Proposed Antitrust Legislation Raises Questions

The Sherman Act was passed in 1890. The Clayton Act in 1914. And they have hardly changed since. Last month, Senator Amy Klobuchar, the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, proposed an overhaul of the antitrust laws: CLERA, the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act.  … Continue Reading

Are Antitrust Claims Against Licensors of Standard Essential Patents Dead On Arrival?

If the September 2020 Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. opinion is any indicator, the answer seems to be “yes,” at least where an alleged violation of fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (“FRAND”) terms and conditions is concerned. Following on the heels of F.T.C. v. Qualcomm Inc., the Northern District of Texas dismissed a complaint in which Continental … Continue Reading

Annual Contract Renewals at the Intersection of Price Gouging and Antitrust Laws

As annual supply contracts come up for renewal, businesses may be wondering whether price increases for annual contracts are permitted under the panoply of price gouging laws currently in effect. Parties may want to negotiate contracts with “normal” price increases, operating under the assumption that, at some point during the contract year, price controls will … Continue Reading

Q&A Follow-Up from “The Price is Right…or Is It? What Supply Chain Businesses Should Know” Webinar

On June 3, 2020, Proskauer’s Antitrust Group hosted a webinar on what supply chain businesses should know about price gouging laws and regulations, and, during and after the webinar, we fielded some thoughtful follow-up questions from clients and friends who attended. We have collected and provided answers to the questions we received below in an … Continue Reading

State Price Gouging Laws: A Coast-to-Coast Reference Guide

Proskauer’s antitrust practice group has developed a State Price Gouging Laws: A Coast-to-Coast Reference Guide to help your business manage price gouging compliance during the COVID-19 emergency. State price gouging measures cast a wide and varied range of coverage, such that compliance at the national level means knowing each state’s covered products and services, permitted … Continue Reading

California’s Crackdown on the Price Gouging Gold Rush

In early March, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued a consumer alert on price gouging. Two weeks later, police in San Diego arrested eight people for price gouging. The same week, investigations by Sacramento authorities prompted new warnings from local authorities. Since then, both the Governor and Attorney General have indicated price gouging will remain … Continue Reading

Attacking Class Certification on a Motion to Dismiss? A Recent Decision Says There is a Way

Plaintiffs often try to define the broadest possible class at the outset of a case on the belief that the scope of the class can be refined on class certification after discovery has been completed. For this strategy to work, however, plaintiffs must get past the pleading stage. Historically, this has not been too difficult … Continue Reading

DOJ Announces First Settlement Under Trump Administration Regarding “No-Poach” Agreement

On April 3, 2018, the Antitrust Division of the U.S Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had reached a settlement in a matter involving a “no-poaching” agreement between employers—the first such enforcement action under the Trump Administration.  The DOJ’s pursuit of the matter reflects the Department’s continuing scrutiny of employment and hiring agreements between … Continue Reading

FTC Announces 2018 Thresholds Under HSR Act and Clayton Act

On January 26, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced revisions to HSR Act and Clayton Act Section 8 thresholds, which are indexed annually to account for inflation. We have identified the adjustments that are likely to be the most relevant to our clients, and reiterate several important practice tips. The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, commonly … Continue Reading

The Eighth Circuit Reignites Claims of Continuing Conduct in Propane Tank Conspiracy

A split Eighth Circuit recently reversed a prior panel ruling and reignited antitrust claims against distributors of pre-filled propane tanks. The 5-4 majority cited the 1997 Supreme Court decision Klehr v. A.O. Smith Corp. to rule that for allegations of a price-fixing conspiracy under the Sherman Antitrust Act, each sale at an artificially inflated price … Continue Reading

Colorado Court Sends Shepherds’ Wage-Fixing Antitrust Suit Out to Pasture

Defendants in a putative class action lawsuit alleging wage fixing antitrust claims no longer need to count sheep to rest easily. A district court judge in Colorado recently denied plaintiffs’ request for leave to amend, effectively dismissing claims brought by a group of shepherds working under the H-2A Visa Program, which covers agricultural guest workers. … Continue Reading

A Bogosian Shortcut Through the Mushroom Patch – The Latest Chapter of a Fairytale Doctrine

Few cases in the antitrust canon have been invoked more frequently, for the wrong reasons, than the Third Circuit’s 1977 decision in Bogosian v. Gulf Oil. For four decades now – culminating in the recent release of a decision certifying class in the long-running Mushrooms case – litigants and courts have cited a “presumption” or “short-cut” … Continue Reading

It’s Not an Illusion! DISH Not Required to Give Credit When Channels Go Dark

Expanded Basic. Choice. Choice Plus. Cable and satellite TV customers pay monthly fees for bundled channel packages of different sizes. The packages are becoming “skinnier,” allowing you to customize your service from a set of modules (i.e., the Family package, the Sports package, various language packages, etc.). But each module is still a pre-set bundle … Continue Reading

When are Universities and Executive Agencies “State Actors” for Antitrust Immunity?

More than fifty years ago, the Supreme Court formalized the “state-action antitrust immunity” doctrine ─ a judge-made rule that certain state governmental conduct is immune from challenge under the federal antitrust laws. Since then, the courts have had a love-hate relationship with “Parker” immunity. The difficulties of that relationship are particularly important to public colleges and … Continue Reading

Four Takeaways from the ABA Antitrust Section’s 2016 Spring Meeting

Antitrust practitioners, enforcers and industry professionals came together in Washington, D.C. for the 64th installment of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law’s annual Spring Meeting. The Spring Meeting provides a look at the year that was and predictions for the year to come. Proskauer was again on the scene to provide the key learnings and takeaways … Continue Reading

When Passive Investors Take a Stand – HSR Act Enforcement Put to the Test

Enforcement actions for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) often are announced with substantial money penalties or other restrictions agreed in advance between the agency and the parties. Not so with the Department of Justice’s complaint filed April 4 against ValueAct Capital and its affiliated investment funds. ValueAct has said that it will vigorously defend … Continue Reading

Justice Scalia and the Demise of the “Genteel Monopolist”

A year before he took his seat on the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia’s future colleagues issued a decision encouraging dominant firms to behave more like that genteel, top hat wearing fellow from the Monopoly game than like any business baron commonly found in the marketplace. That decision, Aspen Skiing vs. Aspen Highlands Skiing, would later … Continue Reading

A New Normal? Challenges to Market Definition Find a Foothold at 12(b)(6) Stage

Recent federal court opinions dismissing cases under Rule 12(b)(6) may provide an early off-ramp for antitrust defendants where a roadblock has often existed. Courts are increasingly dismissing cases at the 12(b)(6) stage for failure to properly plead market definition and therefore failing to meet the requirements of Twombly as to the market definition allegations of … Continue Reading
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