Northern District of California Judge Lucy Koh refused to dismiss In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, a case in which the plaintiffs allege that agreements among hi-tech companies to not steal each other’s engineers. In 2010, the Antitrust Division entered a consent decree with Apple, Pixar, Google, Intel, Adobe Systems, Intuit, and Lucasfilms concerning a [...]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Follow-on Private Litigation Accusing Hi-Tech Firms of Agreeing Not to Compete for Engineering Talent to Move Forward
May 1, 2012 – 4:45 pm
Court Refuses to Certify Advertiser Class Action Against Facebook
May 1, 2012 – 4:43 pm
Northern District of California Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton refused to certify a proposed of online advertisers in In re: Facebook Inc. PPC Advertising Litigation. The court held that the proposed class representatives did not show that they were harmed by the alleged violations. The complaint alleged that Facebook charged advertisers for cost-per-click, or CPC, advertising, [...]
E-book Publishing Antitrust Case Filed
May 1, 2012 – 4:41 pm
The United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, and the European Commission have launched major antitrust initiatives against the e-book publishing industry and Apple. Both enforcers are attacking the publishers’ decisions to switch from a traditional resale model in which book sellers paid wholesale prices and set their own resale prices to an agency model [...]
Court Allows Price-Fixing Conspiracy Claims Against LCD Panel Makers To Move Forward
April 30, 2012 – 12:54 pm
In Jaco Electronics Inc. v. AU Optronics Corp. et al., Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston denied a motion to dismiss, filed by NEC Corp., and other LCD panel makers, allowing Jaco Electronics Inc.’s, antitrust lawsuit to move forward. Jaco’s suit is part of multidistrict litigation over a massive LCD price-fixing conspiracy, alleging that [...]
Court Allows Attempted Monopolization Claim Against Cessna to Proceed
April 30, 2012 – 11:53 am
In WM Aviation LLC et al. v. Cessna Aircraft Co., Middle District of Florida Judge G. Kendall Sharp, dismissed a large portion of a suit against Cessna Aircraft Co. over a 2008 runway plane crash. WM Aviation LLC and Tricor International Corp. accused Cessna of performing faulty maintenance on the jet operated by WM Aviation [...]
Antitrust Claims Against Trojan Condom Maker Dismissed
April 30, 2012 – 10:45 am
In Church & Dwight Co. Inc. v. Mayer Laboratories Inc., Northern District of California Judge Edward M. Chen granted Trojan condommakerChurch & Dwight Co. Inc.’s motion for summary judgment, tossing antitrust claims made against it by rival Mayer Laboratories Inc. Mayer claimed that C&D abused its dominant market position to squeeze out other competitors through [...]
Wellbutrin Class Certification Ruling Upheld
April 29, 2012 – 9:02 pm
In Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation, Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Mary A. McLaughlin denied a motion for reconsideration, filed by defendants GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, challenging the court’s earlier class certification ruling. In their suit, a class of indirect purchasers of depression medication Wellbutrin XL, and its generic equivalent, accused GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant [...]
Jury Finds No Evidence of Antitrust Violations in Emergency Spine Surgery Suit
April 23, 2012 – 1:46 pm
In Alan Moelleken v. Cottage Hospital et al., a California Superior Court jury returned a verdict for the defendants in a suit, filed by orthopedic surgeon Alan Moelleken against Santa Barbara’s Cottage Health System and four doctors, alleging unfair business practices and violations of California’s Cartwright Act. In his suit, plaintiff claimed that in order [...]
Court Tosses Body Armor Antitrust Case, Finding Lack of Power to Monopolize the Thriving Market
April 23, 2012 – 1:16 pm
In Kolon Industries v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours, Eastern District of Virginia Judge Robert E. Payne threw out an antitrust suit brought by Kolon Industries Inc., accusing E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Co. of monopolizing the market for synthetic body armor fiber. The court granted Du Pont’s motion for summary judgment, holding that [...]
Court Grants FTC’s Preliminary Injunction Request, Temporarily Blocking Hospital Merger
April 22, 2012 – 2:59 pm
In Federal Trade Commission v. OSF Healthcare Systems et al., Northern District of Illinois Judge Frederick J. Kapala, granted the Federal Trade Commission’s move for a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking a proposed merger of two Illinois hospitals. The FTC filed suit to challenge a proposed merger between OSF Healthcare System and Rockford Health System, claiming [...]