In United States v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Eastern District of Michigan Judge Mona K. Majzoub denied a motion to compel, filed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, seeking information the government collected in interviews with competitors and customers gathered while investing the case. In its suit, the government accuses Blue Cross […]
Category Archives: Antitrust Division Action
Court Denies Blue Cross’ Motion to Compel Disclosure of Competitor and Consumer Interviews
July 2, 2012 – 4:46 pm
Stay Lifted in Multidistrict Automotive Lighting Case
July 2, 2012 – 4:44 pm
In In re: Aftermarket Automotive Lighting Products Antitrust Litigation, Central District of California Judge George H. Wu lifted a stay on multidistrict litigation against automotive lighting manufacturer Eagle Eyes Traffic Industrial Co. Ltd. Although a parallel criminal case is on-going, Judge Wu concluded that the plaintiffs would suffer from additional delay. In 2008, direct purchasers […]
U.S. Supreme Court Requires Jury Findings on Facts Supporting Criminal Fines
July 2, 2012 – 4:41 pm
In Southern Union Co. v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that any fact used to increase a maximum penalty must be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. That core principal, the court held, applies to criminal fines as well as jail sentences. Until recently, it was assumed that the Department of Justice, […]
Antitrust Investigation of Visa Debit Card Fees
May 30, 2012 – 4:20 pm
The United States Department of Justice is investigating whether Visa violated the antitrust laws when it responded to the debit card fee regulations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by increasing fees on merchants. In response to the legislation limiting per transaction debit card fees to about half their former […]
Publishers Settle State E-book Litigation
May 30, 2012 – 4:19 pm
Southern District of New York Judge Denise L. Cote stayed multidistrict litigation against HarperCollins Publishers LLC and Hachette Book Group Inc. after the two publishers agreed to settle with the 15 states and Puerto Rico that had filed antitrust claims similar to those filed by the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, against Apple […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
DOJ and EC Approve Google Acquisition of Motorola, Other Technology Patent Transactions
March 2, 2012 – 3:45 pm
Both the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the European Commission have approved Google Inc.’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. after intense scrutiny of how Google’s acquisition of Motorola’s intellectual property would give its Android operating system leverage in the wireless market. The DOJ said the licensing of vital “standard essential” […]
DOJ Antitrust Concerns Alter Novell Patent Deal
July 20, 2011 – 2:30 pm
In response to DOJ, Antitrust Division, concerns, a Microsoft-led joint venture has agreed to change its deal to purchase over 800 patents from Novell as part of its sale to Attachmate. Under the revised sale agreement, Microsoft and EMC will not be allowed to hold certain patents, and all of the patents will be covered […]
DOJ Proseuction of Blue Cross of Michigan to Move Forward
June 30, 2011 – 1:41 pm
Update June 2011: Eastern District of Michigan Judge Denise Page Hood has denied a motion to dismiss the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The antitrust suit alleges that the most-favored-nation clauses in the health insurance company’s contracts with hospitals have effectively immunized Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan from competition […]