Courts dismiss complaints for failure to state a claimBy Michael R. LiedFederal Civil Practice, June 2010Courts in the Seventh Circuit are now regularly being asked to dismiss complaints under the new pleading standards.
Proposed revisions of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines are releasedBy Rebecca A.D. NelsonJune 2010The revisions are intended to reflect the evolution of the Antitrust Division and U.S. Department of Justice since the Horizontal Merger Guidelines were first released 18 years ago.
Defining a relevant market? Better get your experts readyBy Beth L. Fancsali & James J. HegartyApril 2010An examination of the Kentucky Speedway, LLC v. National Ass’n of Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. case, and the new Sixth Circuit's opinion emphasizing the importance of economics in reaching the core of the relevant market definition.
Antitrust legislation highlightsBy Jamie ManningDecember 2009 This report highlights several antitrust-related bills proposed by Congress this year.
Review of Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkline Comm., Inc.By Jamie ManningJune 2009In Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkline Communications, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff cannot bring a valid price squeeze claim where the defendant has no antitrust duty to deal with its competitors.
Electronic discovery in antitrust litigationBy Jason FliegelSeptember 2008As the scope, volume, and use of electronically stored information in day-to-day life has increased, so too has electronic discovery become an increasingly prevalent and expensive part of litigation.
Connecticut Attorney General files antitrust lawsuit against Guy CarpenterMarch 2008In 2004, New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer charged several large insurance brokers with improperly attempting to use their leverage with insurers to make contingent commissions bonuses a certainty rather than a possibility without disclosing the situation to their customers.
Connecticut Attorney General files antitrust lawsuit against Guy CarpenterInsurance Law, March 2008In 2004, New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer charged several large insurance brokers with improperly attempting to use their leverage with insurers to make contingent commissions bonuses a certainty rather than a possibility without disclosing the situation to their customers.
Ninth Circuit rejects LePage’s and creates Circuit split on treatment of bundled discountsBy Jonathan L. LewisMarch 2008On February 1, 2008, the Ninth Circuit issued a superseding and amended opinion in an important case regarding the antitrust treatment of “bundled discounts”—that is, selling “a bundle of goods or services for a lower price than the seller charges for the goods or services purchased individually.”
State law limitations on the impact of LeeginBy Blake L. HarropMarch 2008In June of 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a nearly 100-year-old decision in Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co.
The impending demise of Dr. Miles?By Jonathan L. LewisFebruary 2007On March 26, 2007, the United States Supreme Court will hear argument in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., No. 06-480, to decide whether vertical minimum resale price maintenance agreements should continue to be deemed per se illegal under Section 1 of the Sherman Act or be held subject to the rule of reason.
Comparing scotch and bourbon regulationsBy Chris WillisJune 2006As with most any consumer regulation, regulations as to whisky face a dual challenge. It is important that customers not be deceived by the label, and that the common understanding of the terms used on the label corresponds to what is in the package. A further, and sometimes competing, goal, is customer satisfaction: ensuring that, within the regulations, room is made so that products are available which meet customers tastes.
Free magazines and the Tooth FairyBy Cathay SmithJune 2006This article discusses “free magazine subscriptions” that result in negative option plans.
Fringe lending: The need to reel in corporate loan sharksBy Mark L. EvansJune 2006In order to protect consumers from the dangers caused by fringe market lending, federal preemption should be eliminated, and states should be free to establish effective interest rate caps and transparency requirements.