Big changes to California’s state antitrust law, called the Cartwright Act, may be in the works. These changes, if enacted, would represent a significant departure from current antitrust law, prohibiting otherwise lawful...more
Cloaked in secrecy, neither the terms of litigation financing agreements nor the attendant scuffles between financier and claimant, are typically aired in public. That changed for about four months of 2023, during which...more
The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) is a fast-paced, high-stakes forum for companies with significant U.S. operations and/or U.S. intellectual property rights. Broad in scope, Section 337 empowers the ITC...more
In late March, attendees gathered in Washington, D.C., for the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s 71st Annual Spring Meeting, including officials from state, federal and international antitrust enforcement agencies. These enforcers...more
A California jury last week handed down what has been reported to be the first antitrust jury verdict involving the cannabis industry. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and evolve, cannabis-related antitrust...more
Key points: •The Fifth Circuit rejects river authority’s claims of immunity on an antitrust claim brought by two private water utility companies. •In a break from other circuits, Fifth Circuit will hear interlocutory...more
The National Association of Attorneys General (“NAAG”) sent a letter to Congress, signed by a bipartisan group of 52 AGs, calling on legislators to provide state AGs with the same venue selection rights as federal agencies by...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered the transfer of a case asserting standalone Walker Process antitrust claims involving an unenforceable patent to the regional circuit, in this case the US Court of...more
On May 13, 2019, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the views of the U.S. Solicitor General, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and the Federal Trade Commission when it kept alive a putative class...more
More than 40 years ago, the Supreme Court determined that efficient enforcement of the Sherman Act required a bright-line rule, with very limited exceptions, barring antitrust claims by "indirect purchasers"—end customers who...more
In 2012, Marion Healthcare, an outpatient surgery center in southern Illinois, commenced an antitrust action against Southern Illinois Healthcare (“SIH”), a multi-hospital system operating in the same market....more
This blog has discussed some of the dynamics created by the Supreme Court’s Hanover Shoe and Illinois Brick decisions and state “repealer” laws that attempt to undo their effect. As it turns out, repealer states aren’t the...more
On September 19, 2017, the Tennessee Department of Health (“TDOH”) granted the request for a Certificate of Public Advantage (“COPA”) from Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance. This approval paves the...more
After five years of growth through a series of acquisitions, the Washington State Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit to thwart and unwind the most recent expansion efforts of Franciscan Health System (“CHI Franciscan”)...more
One of the primary aspects covered by the 9th reform of the German Competition Act that has just entered into effect is the transposition of the EU Cartel Damages Directive into German law. The preparatory works in the draft...more
In another development in the ongoing cathode ray tube (CRT) multidistrict litigation, Judge Tigar of the Northern District of California ruled that Costco could not recover any damages it sustained as an indirect purchaser...more
Back in April 2015, Teladoc, Inc., which provides U.S. board-certified doctors for consults via phone or online video, filed an antitrust challenge to stop a new Texas Medical Board (TMB) rule from taking effect that requires...more
For the first time, a federal court has held that the Shipping Act of 1984, 46 U.S.C. §§ 40101–41309 (Shipping Act), preempts state-law antitrust claims. The federal district court in New Jersey applied conflict preemption...more
On August 17, United States District Judge Greg Presnell (M.D. Fla.) handed the auto insurer defendants in the In re Auto Body Antitrust Litigation another significant victory, confirming a "Report and Recommendation" by...more
The Athletics baseball team has been located in Oakland, California for many years. Several years ago, the A’s decided they would like to move their franchise to San Jose, which they anticipate would be a more profitable...more
The Texas Medical Board recently adopted a new rule requiring face to face encounters by physicians with patients before prescribing medication. Teladoc has sued the Texas Medical Board in Federal Court alleging restraint of...more