The Eleventh Circuit has ruled that Palmyra Hospital has suffered antitrust injury and is an efficient plaintiff to challenge competitor Phoebe Hospital’s leveraging of a state granted certificate of need (“CON”) to exclude Palmyra, which does not have a certificate, from providing services to Blue Cross customers that do not require a CON.
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Mylan Antitrust Claim Against AstraZeneca Tossed
May 27, 2010 – 2:30 pm
Judge Barbara Jones, Southern District of New York, dismissed Mylan’s sham patent litigation allegations against AstraZeneca on the ground that the defendant’s patent enforcement litigation was supported by probable cause and thus could not give rise to antitrust liability.
Third Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Claims Against Dentsply
May 27, 2010 – 2:02 pm
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismisal of two cases challenging Dentsply’s agreements with dealers with respect to the sale of competitive artificial teeth. The court first upheld the denial of the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that an earlier decision against Dentsply in a government case was not sufficient to establish injury […]
Ninth Circuit Holds that AT&T Did Not Monopolize Underground Concrete Vault Market
May 27, 2010 – 1:41 pm
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a group of AT&T affiliates holding that a contract with a supplier of underground concrete vaults used by developers to install wiring did not improperly monopolize the market because it did not result in supra-competitive prices and did not improperly harm the plaintiff’s market position.
Resale Price Maintenance Law in Flux
May 27, 2010 – 9:16 am
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision three years ago to eliminate the per serule against resale price maintenance, the state of the law remains in flux primarily because some state antitrust enforcers continue to aggressively pursue RPM arrangements under state law. Recent examples include New York’s prosecution of Tempur-Pedic International and California’s case against DermaQuest Inc. […]
No Price Fixing Conspiracy in Text Message Price Fixing Case
May 26, 2010 – 6:35 pm
Update May 2010: The court has held that the plaintiffs more detailed amended complaint property alleges a conspiracy. The amended complaint alleges that the defendants used the Wireless Internet Caucus to facilitate price fixing agreements with respect to text messages, including specific dates and executives who attended the meetings. Although the defendants argued that the […]
FTC Permits Google Acquisition of AdMob to Move Forward
May 26, 2010 – 1:55 pm
After expressing some concerns about the competitive effects of Google’s acquisition of AdMob, the FTC unanimously voted to close the investigation citing Apple’s recent acquisition of Quattro Wireless and plans to become an aggressive competitor in the mobile advertising network market.
EC Fines DRAMS Chip Makers
May 26, 2010 – 12:07 pm
On 19 May, 2010, the EC settled a case involving 10 producers of DRAMS chips used in computers and servers, fining the parties €331,273,800. The fine was reduced by 10% because the companies’ acknowledged the facts.
EC Investigates Bale Wrap Manufacturers
May 26, 2010 – 12:02 pm
The EC inspected companies involved with bale wrap – a plastic film which is used to package silage, hay and straw. The unannouced inspections involved cartel concerns.