Jeffrey May

Supreme Court Clarifies Deference Owed a Foreign Government* In a decision that will have a significant impact on antitrust enforcement, particularly private damages actions against international cartels, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that a federal court considering a case in which foreign (...)

Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Sufficiency of Antitrust Conspiracy Allegations in the Context of Business Associations*Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its regular business for the October 2015 term, but not before deciding to put an antitrust case on the docket for the next term. (...)

Judgment for Drug Companies Unlikely the End of the Road in Nexium Case* The federal district court in Boston has rejected a request from purchasers of AstraZeneca LP’s heartburn medication Nexium for a new trial to challenge a “reverse payment” or “pay-for-delay” agreement between AstraZeneca and (...)

Antitrust Whistleblowers Get Another Shot at Federal Protection from Retaliation by Employers* A bill is advancing through the U.S. Senate that would protect employees who report suspected criminal antitrust activity to their employer or the federal government from workplace retaliation. The (...)

The SMARTER Act and Its Impact on Federal Merger Enforcement* Federal lawmakers are currently considering legislation that would eliminate differences in the procedures used by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division in challenging unconsummated (...)

Divided Supreme Court Allows State Law Antitrust Claims to Proceed Against Pipelines, Rejects Field Preemption Argument* In a decision that’s received relatively little attention, a divided U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week held that the Natural Gas Act (NGA) did not “field” preempt state law (...)

Supreme Court Has Opportunity to Clarify Application of Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act* Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked, in parallel petitions, to resolve a split between the Seventh Circuit and the Ninth Circuit on the application of the federal antitrust laws to a (...)

U.S. Premerger Coordination Allegations Settled for $5 Million in Civil Penalties, Disgorgement* The dangers of prematurely exercising operational control over an acquisition target, or at least appearing to operate organizational control, are highlighted by a Department of Justice Antitrust (...)

Monopoly Claims Can Survive Summary Judgment : Medtronic Must Defend Conduct in “Bone Mill” Market* One firm’s ability to break into the market for “bone mills” used in spinal-fusion surgery did not foreclose the possibility that medical device company Medtronic monopolized or attempted to (...)

Convictions, $500 Million Fine Upheld in Price Fixing Case Against AU Optronics ; Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act No Bar* The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco last week upheld the price fixing convictions of Taiwanese electronics manufacturer AU Optronics (AUO), its U.S. (...)

Second Circuit Clarifies Application of Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act* The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City on June 4 ruled that the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act (FTAIA) barred the antitrust claims of a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company with facilities in (...)

Combination of Idaho’s Largest Health System and Largest Physician Practice Must Be Unwound* Within the span of about two weeks, each of the federal antitrust agencies has been handed a major win in their merger enforcement efforts. Last Friday, it was the Federal Trade Commission’s turn. The (...)

High Court Rejects Removal of Mississippi Antitrust Suit as Mass Action under Class Action Fairness Act* A price fixing action filed by the State of Mississippi as the sole named plaintiff was not a “mass action” under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), even though the state sought (...)

Combination of online consumer review platforms Bazaarvoice and PowerReviews found to violate Clayton Act* Last week, the federal district court in San Francisco ruled that Bazaarvoice Inc.’s June 2012 acquisition of PowerReviews Inc. violated Sec. 7 of the Clayton Act. In a “necessarily lengthy (...)

U.S. Agency Heads Discuss Antitrust Enforcement Priorities* Two of the most significant conferences on the antitrust calendar were held last week. Georgetown Law Center featured its Seventh Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium on September 25, and Fordham Law School’s 40th annual (...)

Justice Department Proposes Remedy for Apple’s Antitrust Violations in e-Book Market* The Department of Justice Antitrust Division on Friday filed its proposed remedy with the federal district court in New York City, addressing Apple Inc.’s role in a conspiracy among publishers to fix retail (...)

Arbitration Agreement Did Not Prevent Effective Vindication of Antitrust Rights* Consumers and small businesses that are parties to contracts containing arbitration agreements will find it tougher, if not impossible, to avoid the terms of those agreements and pursue an antitrust action in (...)

A “reverse payment” settlement agreement is not entitled to “near-automatic antitrust immunity” simply because its anticompetitive effects fall within the scope of the exclusionary potential of the patent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this week in a five-to-three decision. Although such (...)

Removability of Parens Patriae Antitrust Actions Under CAFA To Be Considered by U.S. Supreme Court* It appears that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon resolve a split among the circuits on the issue of whether parens patriae actions can be removed from state court as “mass actions” under the Class (...)

Federal Antitrust Agency Heads Testify at Senate Subcommittee Antitrust Oversight Hearing* FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and William J. Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust (...)

Commissioner Wright Calls for FTC Policy Statement on Unfair Methods of Competition* FTC Commissioner Joshua D. Wright told attendees of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting on April 11 that he was hopeful that the Commission will issue a policy statement, (...)

Ninth Circuit Widens Pool of Plaintiffs Able to Pursue Conspiracy Claims Under California Cartwright Act* The Ninth Circuit on Thursday ruled that a plaintiff need not make a purchase in California to recover overcharges for price-fixed goods under the California Cartwright Act. AT&T (...)

FTC Commissioner Brill Provides Thoughts on Abandoned IDT/PLX Combination* The Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of the now-abandoned merger between Integrated Device Technologies and PLX Technology was the topic of remarks delivered by FTC Commissioner Julie Brill at Skadden’s and (...)

Third Circuit Holds the Line on Antitrust Standing* In order to assert an antitrust injury, a plaintiff needs to be a consumer or a competitor in the restrained market, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled on January 23, 2013. If a company makes the choice not to compete, then it (...)

Hertz Gives FTC More Time to Review Its Proposed Acquisition of Dollar Thrifty* What would likely be the last major acquisition in the car rental industry may soon be completed, with the blessing of the Federal Trade Commission. The pending acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (...)

Acting Antitrust Chief Attributes Recent Enforcement Successes to Focus on Litigation Skills* On September 20, 2012 the federal district court in San Francisco imposed a record-tying $500 million fine on AU Optronics Corporation (AUO), a Taiwan-based liquid crystal display (LCD) producer, for (...)

U.S. Consent Decree with Three Publishers over E-Book Pricing Approved* The federal district court in New York City yesterday approved a U.S. consent decree that resolves U.S. Department of Justice allegations against three publishers for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for (...)

Third Circuit Rejects Scope-of-Patent Test in Antitrust Challenge to K-Dur Patent Settlement* Reverse payments settlements between patent holders and would-be generic competitors in the pharmaceutical industry should be reviewed under a “quick look” rule of reason analysis based on the economic (...)

Convictions in LCD Panel Price Fixing Case Stand After Motions for Acquittal, New Trial Rejected* The government’s successful prosecution of AU Optronics Corporation, its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, and two former company executives serves as a cautionary tale. The case marks the first time a (...)

Justice Department Report Reaffirms Commitment to Competition in Agricultural Markets* The Department of Justice Antitrust Division “remains committed to taking all appropriate investigatory and enforcement action against conduct threatening harm to competition in agricultural markets,” (...)

Kansas Supreme Court Condemns Vertical Price Fixing Agreements as Per Se Illegal* Earlier this month, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the reasonableness of a vertical price fixing agreement is not to be considered when determining whether such an agreement violates the Kansas Restraint of (...)

Antitrust Division Workload Statistics Show Increase in Merger Filings, Enforcement Actions* The Department of Justice Antitrust Division opened 90 merger investigations and filed 13 merger cases in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 (October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2011). The uptick in enforcement (...)

Eleventh Circuit Rejects FTC’s Approach to Pay-for-Delay Settlements as “Turducken Task”* The U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta rejected on April 25, 2012 the Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to a patent litigation settlement between brand name and generic drug companies as an unlawful (...)

Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext Blame “Narrow” Market Definition for EC’s Objection to Combination* Despite a U.S. Department of Justice decision to clear the deal, the European Commission (EC) today blocked the proposed merger of NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse. The EC determined that the (...)

Fines Mounting in Department of Justice Auto Parts Cartel Investigation* The Department of Justice today announced a total of $548 million in fines resulting from a second round of charges in the government’s ongoing investigation into collusive activity in the auto parts industry. Two more (...)

U.S. Justice Department Conditionally Approves Combination of Stock Exchange Groups, European Review Still Pending* The prospects for the merger of Deutsche Börse AG and NYSE Euronext are looking a little brighter, since the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division conditionally approved (...)

Proposed Combination of Tax Software Makers Violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act* The federal district court in Washington, D.C. yesterday released its Memorandum Opinion explaining its October 31 order enjoining H&R Block, Inc.’s proposed acquisition of 2SS Holdings, Inc.—the maker of (...)

What Do Model Antitrust Class Actions Look Like ?* “[O]vercome with a rare and gargantuan sense of awe,” a federal district court judge in Sioux City, Iowa, has called a consolidated class action case arising from price fixing conspiracies in the concrete industry “a model for the nation.” The (...)

Federal Antitrust Agencies Offer Guidance to Health Care Providers Forming Accountable Care Organizations* Today, several federal agencies, including the federal antitrust agencies, issued rules and guidance for assisting health care providers in the formation of new accountable care (...)

Antitrust Decision from Supreme Court Unlikely During Current Term* It is beginning to look like the U.S. Supreme Court will not be taking up any antitrust cases in the current term. Last week, the Court denied six petitions for review in antitrust-related matters. Just yesterday, the Court (...)

Customers’ Efforts to Use Arbitration to Challenge AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Fail* Federal district courts around the country have blocked AT&T Mobility LLC customers from pursuing arbitration to challenge the merger of AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA Inc.—a transaction valued at (...)

Antitrust Decision from Supreme Court Unlikely During Current Term* It is beginning to look like the U.S. Supreme Court will not be taking up any antitrust cases in the current term. Last week, the Court denied six petitions for review in antitrust-related matters. Just yesterday, the Court (...)

Antitrust Decision from Supreme Court Unlikely During Current Term* It is beginning to look like the U.S. Supreme Court will not be taking up any antitrust cases in the current term. Last week, the Court denied six petitions for review in antitrust-related matters. Just yesterday, the Court (...)

Antitrust Decision from Supreme Court Unlikely During Current Term* It is beginning to look like the U.S. Supreme Court will not be taking up any antitrust cases in the current term. Last week, the Court denied six petitions for review in antitrust-related matters. Just yesterday, the Court (...)

Antitrust Decision from Supreme Court Unlikely During Current Term* It is beginning to look like the U.S. Supreme Court will not be taking up any antitrust cases in the current term. Last week, the Court denied six petitions for review in antitrust-related matters. Just yesterday, the Court (...)

Seven States Join U.S. in Suit to Block AT&T’s Acquisition of T-Mobile* The Attorneys General of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington have signed on to the U.S. Justice Department’s complaint challenging AT&T, Inc.’s proposed $39 billion (...)

AT&T’s Planned Acquisition of T-Mobile Challenged by Justice Department* The U.S. Department of Justice today moved to block AT&T Corporation’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc. According to the Justice Department, the proposed acquisition would combine two of the four largest (...)

Submission of Altered Documents in Merger Review Leads to Criminal Charges* Automated teller machine maker Nautilus Hyosung Holdings Inc. has been charged with obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the government in its attempt to obtain U.S.antitrust approval of its (...)

Federal/State Antitrust Suit Against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Can Proceed* Last week, the federal district court in Detroit denied Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s motion to dismiss a federal/state antitrust action challenging the health insurer’s use of most favored nation (MFN) (...)

Injunction Against NFL Lockout Improperly Granted in Players’ Antitrust Suit* Earlier today, the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis vacated an injunction lifting the National Football League’s "lockout" of its players. The divided appellate court, just five days after hearing oral argument on (...)

Illinois Brick Direct-Purchaser Rule Precludes Tying Claims by Hospital* The U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia earlier this week reaffirmed the “bright-line” rule limiting federal antitrust standing to direct purchasers. The court upheld dismissal (CCH 2010-1 Trade Cases ¶77,043) of an (...)

First Amendment Rights Provide Antitrust Shield for Successful Petitioning to Block Potential Rival* How far can a competitor go in an effort to convince a local government to block a potential rival from setting up shop in its area without running afoul of the antitrust laws ? Last week, the (...)

Threat of U.S. Antitrust Challenge Leads Nasdaq to Abandon Pursuit of NYSE* Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) have withdrawn their proposal to acquire NYSE Euronext in the face of antitrust objections from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department issued a (...)

U.S. Challenges Nonreportable Acquisition Consummated During Investigation* Time will tell whether it is a good idea to consummate an acquisition while the Department of Justice Antitrust Division is still investigating. On May 10, the Antitrust Division filed a complaint in the federal (...)

Monopoly Claims Against DuPont Revived by Fourth Circuit* Claims that E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company attempted to wield, and did wield, monopoly power over the U.S. para-aramid fiber market in violation of Sec. 2 of the Sherman Act should not have been dismissed, the U.S. Court of Appeals (...)

Customers’ Efforts to Use Arbitration to Challenge AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Fail* Federal district courts around the country have blocked AT&T Mobility LLC customers from pursuing arbitration to challenge the merger of AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA Inc.—a transaction valued at (...)

Robinson-Patman Act Defense Rejected in Breach-of-Contract Case* Asserting a breach-of-contract defense based on the illegality of the contact under the Robinson-Patman Act appears to be as difficult as successfully alleging a Robinson-Patman Act claim itself. Earlier this week, the federal (...)

Enforceability of Class-Arbitration Bans Still an Open Question* Including an arbitration agreement in a commercial or consumer contract that requires your customer to pursue only individual claims in the arbitral forum will not necessarily protect you from class-wide arbitration. You will (...)

Can the Justice Department Seek Disgorgement for a Sherman Act Violation ?* The federal district court in New York City ruled last week that the Department of Justice was entitled to seek disgorgement as a remedy for an alleged Sherman Act violation. The court approved a consent decree, which (...)

Comcast/NBC Universal Joint Venture Receives Regulatory Approval* The Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission today conditionally approved a joint venture between Comcast Corp. and General Electric Co.’s subsidiary NBC Universal Inc. The joint (...)

New York’s Challenge To Mattress Maker’s Resale Pricing Policy Fails* The State of New York was not entitled to an order enjoining mattress manufacturer Tempur-Pedic International, Inc. from restricting discounting by its authorized retailers, a New York state court has ruled. The New York (...)

New York’s Challenge To Mattress Maker’s Resale Pricing Policy Fails* The State of New York was not entitled to an order enjoining mattress manufacturer Tempur-Pedic International, Inc. from restricting discounting by its authorized retailers, a New York state court has ruled. The New York (...)

Conspiracy to Fix Prices for Text Messaging Services Plausible* Antitrust plaintiffs asserting price fixing claims do not need a “smoking gun” to avoid dismissal of their complaint and proceed to discovery. Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago decided that consumers plausibly alleged (...)

Consumers’ Price Fixing Claims Against Mattress Maker Did Not Meet Twombly Pleading Requirements* A decision from a divided U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta earlier this month continues the debate over the appropriate pleading standard for antitrust plaintiffs under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. (...)

Microsoft Files Antitrust Complaint with European Commission Against Google* Microsoft Corporation has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Google Inc. as part of the EC’s ongoing antitrust investigation into the search engine company. In a March 30 blog post, Brad (...)

Claim of Antitrust Conspiracy Among Tomato Processors Avoids Dismissal* The federal district court in Sacramento, California, has refused to dismiss an antitrust claim alleging that SK Foods L.P.—a now-defunct food products distributor—conspired with others to eliminate competition in the market (...)

Health Insurer Sued over Most Favored Nation Clauses* It has been more than a decade since the U.S. Justice Department has brought an antitrust challenge to enjoin the use of “most favored nation” clauses in the health care industry. Many of the more recent, civil non-merger actions against (...)

Visa, MasterCard Settle U.S./State Antitrust Suit, While American Express Vows to Fight* The Department of Justice and seven states have filed a civil antitrust suit against the three largest credit and charge card transaction networks in the United States, challenging rules that allegedly (...)

FTC Chair Discusses Merger Guidelines, Other Agency Efforts* The FTC’s efforts to substantially revise the Horizontal Merger Guidelines for the first time since 1992 were among the recent agency accomplishments touted by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in remarks delivered last week to attendees of (...)

FTC Loses Suit against Drug Maker over 2006 Acquisition* The Federal Trade Commission recently suffered a significant setback in its merger enforcement efforts when the federal district court in Minneapolis rejected an action brought by the agency along with the State of Minnesota against (...)

California Supreme Court Rejects Pass-On Defense in Price Fixing Case* By Jeffrey May, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business In a case of first impression, the California Supreme Court recently decided that alleged victims of a price fixing scheme can pursue treble damages claims under the (...)

Enforceability of Class-Arbitration Bans Still an Open Question* Including an arbitration agreement in a commercial or consumer contract that requires your customer to pursue only individual claims in the arbitral forum will not necessarily protect you from class-wide arbitration. You will (...)