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 […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
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 […]
EU Investigates Motorola’s Smartphone Patent Conduct for Antitrust Violations
April 20, 2012 – 9:29 pm
The European Union’s antitrust regulator opened two formal investigations to determine whether Motorola Mobility Inc. violated its FRAND commitment to EU’s patent standard-setting organizations by disrupting competition in the EU market with its standard-essential patents for smartphones and other devices. The EC launched these investigations in response to Apple and Microsoft accusing Motorola of unfairly […]
Sirius/XM Launches Antitrust Attack on Music Licensors
April 3, 2012 – 2:11 pm
Sirius/XM has filed suit in New York federal court against SoundExchange, Inc., a copyright collective that represents thousands of labels and artists. The plaintiff asks the court to dissolve SoundExchange or put in place a long-term oversight program. The suit comes amid negotiations over rates that the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will set for a […]
Court Grants TRO Blocking Reebok’s Sale of Tebow NYJ Jerseys
April 3, 2012 – 11:46 am
New York federal court judge, Kevin Castel, granted a temporary restraining order barring Reebok, a unit of Adidas AG, from selling Tim Tebow New York Jets jerseys. “The public demand for such Tebow-Jets products spans the entire U.S.,” plaintiff Nike alleged, has led Reebok “to illegitimately seize on this unique and short-lived consumer opportunity.” Nike […]
EU Court Upholds Telefonica Fine
April 3, 2012 – 11:33 am
The EU’s second-highest court agreed with the European Commission’s 2007 findings that Telefonica charged its competition excessive prices to access its broadband network. The price squeeze forced rivals to charge inflated retail prices or loss money. The General Court rejected Telefonica’s position that commission erred. “In the absence of distortions resulting from the margin squeeze,” […]
Airport Services Anttirust Case Rejected
April 3, 2012 – 11:27 am
Judge Richard P. Matsch granted summary judgment to Montrose County rejecting JetAway’s allegation that the county acted anticompetitively in awarding rival Jet Center Partners LLC a contract to operate the county’s small airport. The plaintiff alleged the count engaged in bid rigging by awarding the contract before issuing the RFP. But the court held that […]