171 results for 'cat:"Antitrust"'.
J. Burke declines to dismiss antitrust claims brought by the manufacturer of a generic version of Apokyn, a treatment for conditions of Parkinson's Disease, because the complaint states claims for anticompetitive conduct such as coercing specialty pharmacies to cancel orders for generic cartridges and filing sham citizen petitions to complicate the FDA review process.
Court: USDC Delaware, Judge: Burke, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1302, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: antitrust, Patent
J. Shelby partially grants the plaintiff chicken growers' motion to exclude certain expert testimony in this multidistrict litigation alleging that the defendant poultry companies suppressed grower pay in violation of the Sherman Act. In rebuttal to the plaintiffs' expert, the poultry science professor cannot provide an opinion on the expert's econometric analysis, but he can "provide industry background opinions" to rebut any factual assumptions.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Oklahoma, Judge: Shelby, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 6:17cv33, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Experts, Class Action
J. Daniel grants the American Board of Psychology and Neurology’s motion to dismiss a group of psychiatrists’ antitrust claims. The Board has a monopoly on psychiatric and neurological certifications in the US that are beneficial to finding work in the field, and it requires certified psychiatrists to take “maintenance of certification” programs every few years to maintain those certifications. Despite this, the court finds the plaintiff psychiatrists have failed to properly state their antitrust claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Daniel, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 1:19cv1614, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Health Care
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[Consolidated.] J. Jacobs finds that the district court properly dismissed antitrust claims in which developers of a brand name blood-pressure drug and its generic equivalents contend "reverse" patent-infringement settlement payments had been made to delay market entry of the generics. Precedent holds that such arrangements can be illegal if they do not represent fair value for goods exchanged as part of an arms-length transaction, but plaintiffs, as purchasers of the drugs, failed to demonstrate the payments were unjustified or unexplained. Furthermore, dismissal with prejudice was proper since the amendment did not cure pleading deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Jacobs, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-410 (L), Categories: antitrust, Civil Procedure, Patent
J. Hoyt finds that a Federal Trade Commission antitrust case can proceed against an anesthesiologists’ group that bought enough similar groups in Texas that they could not easily be excluded from insurance carriers for charging higher prices because they were indispensable. The degree to which the anesthesiologists’ group controls the Texas market has led to higher insurance premiums for consumers and the Federal Trade Commission has submitted sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hoyt, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv3560, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Unfair Competition
J. Shelby grants the plaintiff chicken growers' motion for class certification in this antitrust litigation alleging that certain poultry companies suppressed compensation in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The commonality and typicality elements are satisfied. Additionally, the court denies the defendant poultry company's motion to exclude certain expert opinions.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Oklahoma, Judge: Shelby, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 6:17cv33, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Civil Procedure
J. Tunheim grants the consumer and commercial indirect pork purchasers' and the direct pork purchasers' motions to certify classes in their antitrust action, and denies the port manufacturers' motions to exclude expert testimony of three experts. Each expert report satisfies the standard required for class certification, and all three classes satisfy the requirements of the civil procedure rules governing class actions.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 0:18cv1776, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Experts, Class Action
J. Du dismisses class claims the Las Vegas strip businesses, along with a software company, unlawfully restrained trade by artificially inflating prices of hotel rooms after collectively agreeing to use a specific software. The class has not plausibly alleged a tacit agreement between the strip businesses or a restraint on trade, in part, because hotels are not required to and often do not accept pricing recommendations generated by the hotel revenue management site's products.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Du , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv140, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Consumer Law, Business Practices
J. Gorton denies in part a pharmaceutical company’s motion to dismiss a class action brought against it by health and welfare funds of labor unions for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive practices, causing the funds to overpay for prescription asthma medication. “Because no generic QVAR existed at the time [the pharmaceutical company] purportedly discontinued QVAR in favor of QVAR Redihaler, asthma patients necessarily had to be transitioned onto QVAR Redihaler.”
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Gorton, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv11131, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Health Care, Labor / Unions
J. Evanson grants the consumer's motion to amend his class action alleging that Amazon entered into an agreement with Apple to ban third-party Apple vendors from Amazon's marketplace, forcing the consumers to spend more on Apple's products. Despite their arguments to the contrary, Amazon and Apple do not show that the consumer's potential inadequacy as a class representative qualifies as an inherent defect, and there is no undue delay in amending the complaint.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Evanson, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1599, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Class Action
J. Bell orders a health system and multiple third parties, including Morgan Stanley & Co., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Aetna, to carefully review their requests to seal what they believe to be highly-sensitive information during this litigation. The health system and third parties are concerned that any financial information revealed to the public could potentially cause economic damage. However, not all information is that sensitive in nature and the public has a right to know information in its own interest. Thus, the health system and third parties are ordered to reevaluate their requests and specifically show how the information would be potentially injurious to them before the court makes a decision.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv28, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Health Care, First Amendment
[Consolidated.] J. Proctor denies, in part, a class of companies’ motion to compel pre-2015 structured data or, alternatively, to declare the Rule 37 implications of insurers’ refusal to produce the data in this antitrust lawsuit that partially centers on when the alleged injuries occurred. The insurers’ motion for a protective order based on the appropriate statute of limitations for the companies’ claims is denied, in part. There is a genuine issue of material fact concerning the limitations period of the claims and pre-2015 structured data, but the court agrees it began no earlier than 2015. The court barred the insurer Anthem from using the missing pre-2015 structured data against the companies and the precise limitations period shall be determined.
Court: USDC Northern District of Alabama , Judge: Proctor, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1209, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Evidence, Class Action
J. Morrison grants the health care provider's motion to dismiss, ruling the orthopedic surgeons fail to establish anti-trust standing. There are at least four other hospitals or employment opportunities in the same area as the health care provider, while the surgeons also established their own surgical facility after they left their positions with the provider, all of which proves the provider does not have a monopoly on the relevant area.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Morrison, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv2145, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Employment, Health Care
J. Adams finds that the trial court properly sustained Apple's demurrer on a class action complaint alleging that the Apple App Store imposes unfair contractual terms on software developers. The Colgate doctrine provides Apple with a safe harbor against the developers’ unfair competition claim under the unfair prong, as Apple's practices amounted to permissible unilateral conduct under both antitrust and unfair competition statutes. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Adams, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: H050526, Categories: antitrust, Unfair Competition
J. Hardwick finds that the lower court properly found for the defendant grout-maker on antitrust claims alleging that its noncompete agreement with its former president violated the law. In the noncompete agreement, the former president agreed to a 10-year non-competition period because he was caught violating a previous one-year agreement within three months. The extended term was reasonable as part of a settlement agreement to avoid litigation over the president's breach of the first noncompete agreement. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hardwick, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: WD86444, Categories: antitrust, Business Practices
J. Dever grants the U.S. Department of Commerce’s motion to dismiss antitrust and tort claims brought by a former patent examiner. The examiner alleges that the department, her former employer, was unfair in its performance reviews and removed credit for the work she did for it, thereby damaging her career. However, her claims must by dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the department retains sovereign immunity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv495, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Tort, Immunity
J. Morris allows some claims to proceed against the owner of a "condo hotel" regarding allegations that the hotel uses exclusive leasing arrangements that essentially function as unlawful "tying arrangements." There is enough on the record at this stage to suggest that the owner has used unlawful property declarations regarding their rental management and condominium ownership agreements to which customers have had to agree. While antitrust claims fail for not showing evidence of market power, claims related to the property declarations may proceed to determine if they are unenforceable.
Court: USDC Montana, Judge: Morris, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv95, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: antitrust, Property
J. Pan reverses the district court’s finding for the National Association of Realtors, which had petitioned to set aside a new investigative subpoena issued by the Department of Justice pertaining to its investigation into NAR’s allegedly anti-competitive, commission-related practices. Contrary to the district court’s finding, the DOJ had the power to withdraw its previous proposed consent judgment and reopen its investigation.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Pan, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 23-5065 , Categories: Administrative Law, antitrust, Real Estate
J. Traum grants the newspaper's motion to exclude expert testimony that was to be made on behalf of another media company in support of its claims the newspaper breached the cooperation and quality provisions of a joint operating arrangement triggering this range of antitrust and contract claims and counterclaims. The paper provides no source that calls into question the expert's methods. The validity challenge can be pursued before the jury.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Traum , Filed On: March 31, 2024, Case #: 2:19cv1667, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Experts, Discovery
J. Parker denies Blue Cross Blue Shield dismissal on certain claims in which Ford contends that, as part of a larger conspiracy, Blue Cross divided territory and fixed prices while reducing competition and increasing costs of health services. Ford adequately alleged an antitrust injury on grounds that Ford paid higher premiums for traditional insurance product resulting from a “horizontal agreement” between Blue Cross and its members.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Michigan, Judge: Parker, Filed On: March 30, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv11286, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust
J. Blakey mostly denies the sued card shuffler supplier’s motion for summary judgment on antitrust and patent claims brought by the suing group of card shuffler suppliers. The court allows all the plaintiffs’ claims to move forward, save for one patent fraud claim regarding two prototype card shuffler devices, finding the plaintiffs have not provided sufficient evidence to back up their claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Blakey, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 1:19cv1846, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Fraud, Patent
J. Kendall denies a group of turkey processors’ motion for summary judgment to dismiss an investment firm from this longrunning litigation over alleged turkey product price-fixing. The investment firm never bought any turkey products from the processors, instead having simply bought the antitrust claim from a now-bankrupt national food distributor years ago. The turkey processors argue this is champerty forbidden by state law, and that allowing the investment firm to continue in the suit despite merely speculating on the case’s outcome will greenlight litigation funders to further purchase claims and pursue them for profit. The court is unconvinced, finding nothing wrong with the investment firm’s litigation, as it is itself owned by another capital firm litigation funder.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Kendall, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 1:19cv8318, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Banking / Lending, Contract
J. Durkin grants T-Mobile’s motion to certify an interlocutory appeal over whether a putative consumer class has sufficiently alleged antitrust standing. The putative class opposes the now-closed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint and seeks, via this suit against T-Mobile’s parent company, to unwind the merger and prevent T-Mobile from having a monopoly over U.S. wireless services.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Durkin, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv3189, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Class Action, Technology
J. Gilliam allows claims to proceed against LinkedIn from users who say the company uses its control over the professional networking market to force users to spend more on its "LinkedIn Premium Career" services. There is enough on the record at this stage to properly allege that the company has almost “no competitive check" against what kind of prices it can set for its premium services. As a result, the court is also lifting a previously issued stay on discovery so that the case can proceed to the next stage.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Gilliam, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv237, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Discovery