170 results for 'cat:"Antitrust"'.
J. Kollar-Kotelly refuses to grant summary judgment to Delta and United on a multidistrict class action antitrust case, which accuses them, along with Southwest and American, of conspiring to increase airfares by limiting capacity growth on domestic flights. There are genuine issues of fact regarding parallel behavior among the airlines and evidence the airlines were not acting independently.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Kollar-Kotelly, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 1:15mc1404, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Transportation
J. Davila denies summary judgment to telescope retailers and consumers in their antitrust suit alleging that Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co. fixed prices and restricted trade terms in the telescope market. They allege that the company, which has been successfully sued for this before, has tried to defraud the court to evade judgement and refuses to appear in this suit. And while it is true that the company has not appeared in the case after being served, there are still triable issues regarding evidence of their alleged antitrust activity that need to be proven. Summary judgment would be premature and not in the interest of "judicial economy."
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Davila, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 5:20cv3642, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust
J. Chun denies Amazon's motion to dismiss the consumers' class action alleging that Amazon uses minimum margin agreements (MMAs) to force the consumers to pay for overpriced products in Amazon's effort to unreasonably restrain competition. The consumers plausibly allege that the MMAs cause "supracompetitive prices or otherwise impair competition" by giving Amazon a monopoly on pricing the supplier's product against other online competition a majority of the time while Amazon receives a minimum margin on each sale regardless of the actual price.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv965, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Class Action
J. Kenney agrees in part with the lower court's decision that Cricket and AT&T violated consumer protection laws when they sold CDMA-only phones to customers that they knew would not work after a merger. Cricket sold at least 50,000 cell phones that only used the CDMA network after announcing its merger with AT&T. However, it planned to decommission the network upon merging, and neither company told the phone customers. An investigation by the state's Office of the Attorney General revealed the companies to have sold the phones deceptively. While they argue on appeal that the suit is time-barred under a judicial proceedings rule, this is incorrect because the rule does not apply to administrative proceedings, under which this case falls.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Kenney, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 24C21003491, Categories: antitrust, Trade, Consumer Law
J. Seeger mostly denies a group of food companies’ motion to exclude grocers’ testimony from an antitrust trial over egg producers’ alleged scheme to artificially inflate the price of eggs in the U.S. The producers claim that they had fewer eggs to sell domestically in part due to installing larger enclosures for egg-laying hens as part of an animal welfare reform effort, and that grocers themselves urged the producers to install the larger enclosures in response to consumer demand for more humane treatment of farm animals. The food companies claim grocers’ testimony to that effect would be irrelevant and prejudicial, and while the court disagrees generally, it will also rule on the admissibility of any particular deposition on a “line-by-line basis as necessary.”
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Seeger, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 1:11cv8808, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Agriculture, antitrust, Animal Cruelty
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J. Lipman grants the indirect purchasers' motion to reconsider certain rulings in this putative class action alleging that the defendant cheerleading company charged "artificially inflated prices for goods and services, including enrollment in cheer competitions." On reconsideration, the court again dismisses their Tennessee Trade Practices Act claims "as to the Camp and Competition markets."
Court: USDC Western District of Tennessee , Judge: Lipman, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv2892, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Class Action
J. Kendall partially grants a putative class’ motion to impose spoliation sanctions on a telecommunications company for its failure to preserve information relevant this antitrust case over the 2017 attempted merger of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Tribune Media Company. The court, finding that the telecommunications company didn’t preserve several important documents and electronic records after it had a duty to do so, grants fee shifting sanctions against the company. The class has until Sept. 21 to file their fee petition, while the telecommunications company has until Oct. 5 to file any objections.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Kendall, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 1:18cv6785, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Sanctions, Negligence
J. Brennan finds that the lower court improperly awarded class counsel $57.4 million in fees, equal to one-third of the settlement, in this antitrust suit over alleged price-fixing in the broiler chicken market. In making its decision, the court did not consider bids made by class counsel in auctions in other cases as well as out-of-circuit fee awards. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 22-2889, Categories: antitrust, Attorney Fees
J. Wang denies a data analytics firm's motion to amend claims contending a competitor created an information monopoly by restricting access to data because the firm failed to identify new, specific information that would support an amendment or avoid likely dismissal.
Court: USDC Colorado, Judge: Wang, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1275, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust
J. Boulee grants Google's motion to dismiss an antitrust action brought by an individual alleging that Google drove search traffic to YouTube copies of videos launched on the individual's video platform instead of to the original content. The individual alleged that Google's anticompetitive practices prevented his platform from gaining visibility. The individual failed to show that he suffered an antitrust injury in his individual capacity. The alleged harms were suffered by the video platform, not the individual.
Court: USDC Northern District of Georgia, Judge: Boulee, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv4204, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust
J. Easterbrook finds that the lower court improperly dismissed a class action challenging a now-deleted clause of McDonald's franchise agreement which prohibited owners from hiring any person employed by another McDonald's franchise. Complex questions regarding the purpose of the "no-poach" clause remain, for which discovery is necessary to determine if McDonalds, as it claims, advertises as a single entity for workers and wants to prevent some franchises from free riding on the contributions of others. The answers to these questions will determine whether the employees have a valid anti-trust claim. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Easterbrook, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 22-2333, Categories: antitrust, Employment
J. Seeger denies a coalition of egg producers’ motion to exclude evidence regarding egg exports in this antitrust case. The suing food companies claim the producers artificially increased the domestic price of eggs in the U.S. by exporting more eggs globally and selling them in markets abroad for lower prices than paid by U.S. consumers. The court finds any evidence regarding this claim is necessarily relevant to the case, and so denies the producers’ motion to exclude.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Seeger, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 1:11cv8808, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Agriculture, antitrust, Trade
J. Phillips finds that the lower court improperly granted summary judgement to a supplier of calcium silicate, a substance used to make pipe insulation, after a smaller company sued it for maintaining an unlawful monopoly over the space. The smaller company says it tried to enter the market with a superior and less expensive product, but the larger company responded by threatening distributors that they would not sell to them if they bought the cheaper product. The smaller company put forward enough evidence that the larger entity had acquired an unfair monopoly and was using exclusionary conduct and threats to injure its competitor. Reversed in part.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Phillips, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 22-1164, Categories: antitrust
J. Zilly finds in favor of the real estate broker's Lanham Act claim that Zillow hid all non-multiple-listing services (MLS) on its websites behind tab labels, causing the real estate broker's listings to lose traffics. Zillow's FAQ page did not make the tab labels less deceptive because it did not identify what the acronym meant, and it did not indicate that an agent did not need to belong to an MLS.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Zilly, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv312, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Real Estate
J. Tunheim grants the beef packers' motion to dismiss the ranchers' complaint in this putative class action alleging price-fixing in cattle markets. The ranchers have not established antitrust standing for the purposes of their Sherman Act and Packers and Stockyards Act claims, nor for relevant state antitrust and consumer protection claims. The ranchers have not clearly explained how the alleged price-fixing scheme injured them.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv2903, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Jurisdiction, Class Action
J. Zilly dismisses the real estate broker's claim that Zillow and others concealed all non-multiple listing services (MLS) on their websites, resulting in the real estate broker's listings losing traffic. Zillow's decision to implement a uniform two-tab display because 71% of MLSs associated with National Association of REALTORS (NAR) adopted the optional rule against commingling does not prove that there is a scheme between NAR and Zillow to hide non-MLS listings behind a secondary tab on Zillow’s platforms.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Zilly, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv312, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust
J. Menendez denies the automaker's subsidiary's motion to dismiss the auto parts distributor's counterclaims in a suit brought by the subsidiary alleging that the distributor was improperly distributing replacement parts. The counterclaims, which allege unfair competition, unjust enrichment and a variety of antitrust violations, survive the subsidiary's arguments that it is "essentially immune from allegations of anticompetitive conduct," that it has not sufficiently alleged a relevant market and that it has not pleaded an actual antitrust injury. The distributor has also adequately stated monopolization and attempted monopolization claims, along with a claim that the subsidiary has unlawfully tied its sale of new cars to dealers to a demand that they only source replacement parts from the subsidiary and a number of state law claims.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Menendez, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv1681, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: antitrust, Contract
J. Menendez grants the distributor's motion to dismiss three of the Japanese automaker's American subsidiary's claims against it in a suit alleging that it unlawfully sells replacement parts for the automaker's vehicles, but denies its motion for joinder of the automaker itself. The distributor's motion is not untimely and since the subsidiary is not the owner of the trademarks at issue in its trademark claims, it does not have standing to bring them. The automaker, however, is not a necessary party for the subsidiary's remaining claims, and there is not substantial risk of serial litigation created by the joinder denial.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Menendez, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv1681, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: antitrust, Jurisdiction
J. Seeger grants a group of egg suppliers’ motion to bifurcate their upcoming antitrust suit into a liability phase and a damages phase. A number of food companies sued the egg producers years ago, alleging the producers had conspired to artificially restrict the supply of eggs in the U.S., jacking up prices for eggs and egg products. The case has bounced around multiple districts up to this point, with prior court findings supporting the notion that a jury in this trial would find for the egg producers. As such, this court finds bifurcating liability and damages would promote judicial economy.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Seeger, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 1:11cv8808, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Agriculture, antitrust, Civil Procedure
J. Boulware grants the former UFC fighters’ motion to certify class as to actively competing fighters in their suit over the UFC’s dominance in mixed martial arts, allegedly because of anticompetitive behavior. The class contains over 1,200 members residing throughout the United States, making joinder impractical, and satisfying numerosity. All factors have been established for class certification, such as commonality, being that predominance has been established.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Boulware, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 2:15cv1045, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Class Action, Contract
J. Mehta refuses to dismiss certain antitrust claims filed by the government and 38 states regarding Google’s alleged exclusionary practices as applied to search engine services and search advertising. There are genuine disputes of fact regarding the claim Google's exclusive dealing arrangements violate the Sherman Act and whether Google's disparate development of certain ad-buying features has an anticompetitive effect.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Mehta, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv3010, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Corporations, Technology
J. Johnston partially grants a group of pharmacy companies’ motion to dismiss antirust claims brought by a collection of Medicare benefit providers. The providers claim the pharmacy companies violated consumer protection laws by raising the price of the rare pediatric medication Acthar from only $750 per vial to almost $39,000 per vial. The court finds the providers have sufficiently alleged their direct purchaser claims to survive dismissal, but tosses their indirect purchaser claims without prejudice.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Johnston, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv50056, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Fraud, Consumer Law
J. Easterbrook finds that the lower court properly dismissed antitrust claims against the bank stemming from emails encouraging broiler-chicken producers to cut production. The plaintiffs do not allege the bank served as a conduit for chicken producers to act as a cartel, simultaneously cutting production to raise prices, but rather the bank set out to protect its interests - in the loans it issued to producers - through unilateral action. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Easterbrook, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 22-1858, Categories: antitrust, Banking / Lending
J. Docherty partially grants the former meat conglomerate employees' motions to quash subpoenas issued to them as part of ongoing multidistrict litigation premised on allegations of price-fixing. The plaintiffs in that litigation have sufficiently shown that the employees likely have relevant information on their phones, though discovery for two of the employees' phones is limited to periods starting at the dates they entered the positions they were in at the time of filing. A request for documents concerning communications regarding beef markets is narrowed to exclude text messages about meetings and communications without a clear purpose.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Docherty, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 0:23mc42, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Discovery
J. Failla partially denies the S&P's motion to dismiss this "double-pronged" antitrust and copyright action stemming from the agency's administration of the CUSIP Service Bureau, which creates numeric identifiers for each specific U.S. security. The investors sufficiently allege that the S&P's policy of allowing third-party vendors to distribute data only to users who have signed subscription agreements may be intended purely to eliminate competition.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Failla, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1929, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: antitrust, Copyright, Securities