In Mike Madani et al. v. Shell Oil Co. et al., Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action filed by gas station owners in California accusing Shell Oil Co., Chevron Corp., and Saudi Refining Inc. of engaging in a scheme to fix fuel prices for U.S. franchise owners during […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Price-Fixing Action Against Oil Companies Dismissed by Ninth Circuit As Time-Barred
December 16, 2009 – 12:13 am
IBM Acused of Monopolizing Mainframe Market
December 15, 2009 – 10:57 am
Neon Enterprise Software has sued IBM in the Western District of Texas arguing that the mainframe computer giant has engaged in unfair competition in telling customers that they may not use a Neon software product. According to the complaint, mainframe customers with legacy systems are effectively locked into paying IBM large licensing fees. In recent […]
Thermostat Class Action Gets Certified
December 15, 2009 – 10:28 am
In Wright et al. v. Honeywell International Inc., Vermont’s highest court has reversed and remanded a lower state court’s denial of class certification to a consumer collective action alleging Honeywell International Inc. abused its dominant position in the thermostat market. Vermont Supreme Court held that the trial court applied too rigorous a standard in denying […]
Sixth Company Pleads Guilty For Conspiracy To Fix Liquid Crystal Display Panel Prices
December 14, 2009 – 12:13 pm
In U.S. v. Chi Mei Optoelectronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics has pled guilty and agreed to pay $220 million in criminal fines for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of liquid crystal display panels. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Chi Mei and five other co-conspirators agreed during meetings, conversations and […]
EC Conducts Surprise Raids of Pharmaceutical Companies On Suspicion of Anticompetitive Practices
December 14, 2009 – 11:31 am
The European Commission conducted surprise raids of several pharmaceutical companies, including Lundbeck A/S as part of the investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices. In raiding the companies, EC had reason to believe that prohibitions on restrictive business practices or the abuse of a dominant position may have been infringed.
Egg-Sharing RICO And Antitrust Violations Claims Dismissed As “Quite Far-Fetched”
December 10, 2009 – 10:25 am
In Options National Fertility Registry et al. v. American Society for Reproductive Medicine et al., Northern District Court of California Judge Jeremy Fogel dismissed for the third time a proposed class action brought by an organization representing human egg donors who say the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology […]
Labor Part of Union Subsidies Case Is Affirmed, Antitrust Part Will Go To Trial
December 10, 2009 – 10:04 am
In American Erectors Inc. et al. v. Local Union No. 7, Massachusetts District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns handed down an order denying Local No. 7 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Iron Workers’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, largely affirming the jury verdict in the labor portion of a […]
Second Circuit Holds NYC Immune From Antitrust Challenge on Pay Phone Restrictions
December 9, 2009 – 11:46 am
The Second Circuit has upheld a trial court decision rejecting The New Phone Co.’s challenge to a New York City ordinance that regulates pay phone installation on public property. (The city claims no authority to regulate pay phone installation on private property.) The plaintiff alleged that because Verizon had locked up all of the good […]
US Supreme Court Denies Cert in FTC v. Rambus
December 8, 2009 – 5:16 pm
Update December 2009: The EC has agreed to close its investigation of Rambus in exchange for Rambus’s agreement to issue royalty free licenses for its SDR and DDR chips and to charge 1.5% for patents necessary for later chip standards, a percentage point reduction from the company’s current royalties for DDR chips. Ramus is not […]
Auto Filter Price-Fixing Suit To Move Forward
December 2, 2009 – 10:21 am
In In Re: Alftermarket Filters Antitrust Litigation, MDL, Northern District of Illinois Judge Robert W. Gettleman has rejected a request by manufacturers including Honeywell International Inc., Wix Filtration Corp., and United Components Inc. to dismiss consolidated putative class action suits alleging price-fixing in the market for automotive filters under heightened pleading standards of Bell Atlantic […]