District of Nevada Judge Robert C. Jones reversed an earlier ruling between Bally Technologies and International Gaming Technology (IGT). This new ruling effectively ends the antitrust portion of the lawsuit. The counter-claimant, Bally, alleged that the suit was part of an effort to monopolize the gaming market for certain types of machines. Bally argued that […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
New Evidence of Price-Fixing Agreement Reopens Oil Rig Helicopter Case
January 17, 2011 – 10:37 am
District of Delaware Judge Jerome D. Davis has reopened a putative class action against some of the largest providers of offshore helicopter flights to oil rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico. Plaintiff, Superior Offshore Inc., filed an amended complaint that included new evidence of a price-fixing agreement from a confidential witness. Plaintiffs allege PHI […]
DOJ Indicts Ex-Florida West Vice-President and Others for Price-Fixing in Air Transportation Industry
January 17, 2011 – 10:35 am
The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, indicted Ex-Florida West Vice President Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo, Luis Agusto Afanador, and Jaime Rueda Sr. in the Southern District of Flordia for conspiracy to restrain trade under the Sherman Act. The conspiracy operated in early 2002, allegedly fixing the prices of peak season fuel and security surcharges for cargo […]
EC Levies $858 Million in Fines Against LCD Manufacturers For Cartel Activity
January 17, 2011 – 12:22 am
The Commission fined six Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) manufacturers $858 million for cartel practices in the manufacture and sale of televisions and computer monitors. According to the Commission, the companies operated the cartel for over four years, agreeing on pricing, future production planning, and capacity utilization. Also, participants held approximately 60 meetings dubbed the “crystal […]
SRAM Class Action to Proceed
January 17, 2011 – 12:21 am
Northern District of California Judge Claudia Wilken denied a motion to decertify a class of direct purchasers of SRAM chips. The judge also denied in part and granted in part defendants’ motion for summary judgment for indirect purchaser claims. Samsung argued in its motion for decertification that the direct purchasers lacked standing because the direct […]
EC Investigates Whether Google Unfairly Promoted Its Own Services Over Its Competitors’ Services
January 17, 2011 – 12:19 am
The EU opened formal proceedings against Google to determine if it had utilized market power to push down the rank of other search and price comparison sites. The investigation was opened after the Commission received several complaints from other search providers alleging that Google was unfairly favoring its own search results. The EC will also […]
Antitrust Suit Threatens Avis Budget-Dollar Thrifty Merger
January 17, 2011 – 12:18 am
Franchisees of the Dollar-Thrifty Motor Group filed an antitrust complaint filed in the Western District of Washington, alleging that the merger would violate the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in the car rental market. The plaintiff’s specifically claim that if Avis acquires Dollar-Thrifty then there would be an increase of market concentration in U.S. […]
Third Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Insurance Conspiracy Claim
January 17, 2011 – 12:17 am
The Third Circuit reversed the dismissal of a Section 1 claim brought by West Penn Allegheny Health Systems, Inc. against the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPMC). West Penn alleged that UPMC used its power in the health care provider market to protect Highmark, an insurance carrier, from competition. In exchange, the plaintiffs allege that […]
Indirect Payers Fail to Vacate Summary Judgment Against Bank America and Others for Fee Fixing
January 17, 2011 – 12:16 am
Northern District of California Judge Charles Breyer denied plaintiff bank customers’ motion to vacate a judgment, upholding an earlier ruling granting summary judgment for defendants. Plaintiffs lacked standing, the court held, to sue Bank of America and others for conspiring to fix ATM charge fees. Judge Breyer explained that the indirect payers of these fees could […]
Vertical Price Fixing Dismissal Upheld on Appeal
January 17, 2011 – 12:14 am
The 11th Circuit upheld the dismissal of a proposed class-action against Tempur-Pedic North America Inc., ruling that the allegations did not meet the Twombly plausibility standard. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to (1) plead a relevant market; (2) sufficiently allege that unreasonable restraint of trade was created by Tempur-Pedic’s vertical resale price maintenance agreement; […]