The plaintiffs in In re: ATM Fee Antitrust Litigation have responded to the Northern District of California court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants’ on their plaintiffs’ per se theory by amending the complaint to allege a rule of reason violation. The complaint alleges that the banks participating in the Star ATM network have […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
EU Approves Dutch TV/Radio Regulatory Proposal
February 12, 2009 – 5:00 pm
The EC has approved a Dutch regulatory proposal intended to allow alternative radio and TV signals to compete more effectively with those offered by the Netherlands’ largest cable operators.
French Competition Counsel Voids IPhone Exclusive Deal
February 4, 2009 – 2:39 pm
Update February 2009: An appellate court in Paris has upheld the decision that Orange SA may not be the exclusive service provider for Apple’s I-Phone in France. The decision conflicts with those in other countries, and Orange SA plans to seek review before the French high court. As it has throughout the world, Apple reached […]
Freight Transport Price Fixing Case Dismissed
February 3, 2009 – 12:06 pm
Judge William Duffey, Northern District of Georgia, dismissed an antitrust complaint under Twombly for failing to sufficiently allege concerted activity among a group of freight transportation carriers. The court argued that allegations that merely allow one to imagine that a “conspiracy may have occurred” were insufficient because “imagination is not enough.” More specifically, the court […]
Third Circuit Remands Plastics MDL on Class Certification Issue
February 3, 2009 – 12:01 pm
Update September 2010: On remand, the district court denied class certification. Following its decision in the recent hydrogen peroxide case, the Third Circuit remanded In Re: Plastic Additives Antitrust Litigation for additional consideration as to whether common issues in fact predominate.
Attempt to Monopolize Resin Industry Case Goes Forward
February 3, 2009 – 11:54 am
Judge Joan Lefko, Northern District of Illinois, dismissed a tying claim, but allow other antitrust allegations made by DSM Desotech Inc. against 3D Sytems Corp. to go forward in a private antitrust action involving the stereolithography machine industry. The machines use lasers to cut objects from resin. DSM argues that 3DS has tried to exclude […]
Undersea Cable Manufacturers Investigated by EU
February 3, 2009 – 11:37 am
The EC has confirmed late January unannounced inspections at the premises of unamed high voltage undersea cables manufacturers.
DOJ & EC Approve Sun Microsystems/Oracle Merger
February 1, 2009 – 1:45 pm
Update January 2010: The EC agreed to let the merger move forward without conditions. Update November 2009: The EC issued a statement of objections to the merger expressing concern over the fate of Sun’s open source database. The DOJ reiterated its position that sufficient competitive threats existed in the market to prevent anticompetitive effects from […]
Class Complaints Challenge Walmart-Netflix Deal
January 27, 2009 – 12:50 pm
A number of class action complaints have been filed throughout the country challenging a 2005 agreement between Walmart and Netflix in which the retailer agreed to abandon the on-line DVD rental business and transfer its customers to Netflix, and in turn, Netflix agreed not to sell movies on-line and to refer its customers to Walmart […]
EC Investigates Standard & Poor’s
January 23, 2009 – 5:03 pm
The EC has begun investigating Standard & Poor’s conduct towards users of International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs), specifically forcing financial institutions, such as banks and investment funds, to pay licensing fees for the use of US ISIN codes in their own databases.