In Darba Enterprises Inc. v. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. et al., District of Nevada Judge Hicks dismissed the plaintiffs’ antitrust claim arguing that the defendant’s trademark enforcement suit against the plaintiff constituted anticompetitive activity. Amica had sued alleging that Darba violated its trademark by using it in websites that inaccurately suggested that Darba could provide […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Payment Card Re-load Fee Fixing Not Per Se Illegal
August 16, 2012 – 1:01 pm
In nFinanSe Inc. v. Interactive Communications International Inc., Northern District of Georgia Judge Amy Totenberg dismissed the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant violated the antitrust laws by requiring a set fee to reload payment cards used in the defendant’s network. The plaintiff, a seller of prepaid credit cards, claimed that the defendant, a distributor of […]
Claims Dismissed in Refrigerant Compressor Price Fixing Case
August 16, 2012 – 12:58 pm
In Refrigerant Compressors Antitrust Litigation, Eastern District of Michigan Judge Sean F. Cox dismissed several state antitrust indirect purchaser claims in multidistrict litigation alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the refrigerant compressor market. The court found that indirect purchase plaintiffs must have lived in or suffered an injury in a state to bring indirect purchaser claims […]
USFE’s Antitrust Suit Against CME and CBOT Will Move Forward
August 8, 2012 – 2:45 pm
In U.S. Futures Exchange LLC et al. v. Board of Trade of the City of Chicago et al., Northern District of Illinois Judge James B. Zagel denied, in part, a motion for summary judgment, filed by Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc., thereby allowing part of the antitrust suit against them to […]
Microsoft’s Decision to Withdraw Windows Support for WordPerfect Not Antitrust Conduct
August 7, 2012 – 4:23 pm
In Novell Inc. v. Microsoft Corp, District of Utah Judge J. Frederick Motz granted Microsoft’s motion for judgment on Novell’s eight-year-old claim that the software giant violated the antitrust laws by eliminating certain APIs from Windows that Novell used to run applications such as WordPerfect. The claim had gone to a jury, which was unable […]
Third Circuit and EU: Pay-for-Delay Generic Drug Settlement Can Violate Antitrust Law
August 7, 2012 – 4:20 pm
Update: The Third Circuit has refused to stay its ruling pending Supreme Court review. The defendant sought the stay in hopes of restraining the FTC and private plaintiffs from using the ruling to justify attacks on other drug patent settlements. In In re: K-Dur Antitrust Litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit […]
Court Refuses to Dismiss Accreditation Antitrust Suit
August 6, 2012 – 10:03 pm
In K&S Associates Inc. v. American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Middle District of Tennessee Judge Kevin H. Sharp refused to dismiss radiation therapy calibration laboratory’s suit accusing the American Association of Physicists in Medicine of conspiring to reduce competition in the calibration industry and drive the lab out of business. K&S sued AAPM, alleging […]
Court Denies Class Certification in Car Parts Antitrust Suit
August 6, 2012 – 9:09 pm
In Perez et al. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company et al., Northern District of California Judge James Ware dismissed a putative class action against State Farm Mutual Insurance Company and four other insurers. In their suit, plaintiffs alleged that the insurers colluded to exclusively offer “junk” policies that shut competitors out of the […]
DOJ Seeks to Block No Contest Plea in Airline Price-Fixing Case
August 6, 2012 – 8:17 pm
In U.S. v. Florida West International Airways Inc. et al., The U.S. Department of Justice urged the judge weighing a no-contest plea by Florida West International Airways Inc., in a criminal price-fixing case, to explain his decision. In this case, the DOJ has accused Florida West and its former vice president of conspiring to rig shipment […]
Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Title Insurance Price Fixing Suit
August 6, 2012 – 7:40 pm
In Jordan Katz et al. v. Fidelity National Title Insurance et al., the Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a consolidated class action accusing 22 title insurers of conspiring with an Ohio rating bureau to fix prices. In their suit, plaintiffs claimed that the title insurers violated the Sherman Act and Ohio’s Valentine Act when […]