Antitrust Law

Chicago Cubs face a variety of lawsuits over Wrigley Field

“This is gonna be the year.” It’s the mantra Chicago Cubs fans have started nearly every season with since the team won its last World Series—in 1908. But if 2015 is, finally, the year, fans better get out their scorecards to stay abreast of a slew of lawsuits that may…

Apr 1, 2015 4:30 AM CDT

Should cloned horse be registered as quarter horse? Horse breeder seeks rehearing in antitrust suit

Breeders of a cloned horse are asking a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision, tossing their suit seeking to register the clone with the American Quarter Horse Association. Texas horse breeder Jason Abraham and veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen had claimed the association violated antitrust laws when it refused to register…

Mar 17, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

SCOTUS smiles on nondentist teeth whiteners, allows antitrust action against dentistry board

A North Carolina dental regulatory board made up mostly of dentists doesn’t have state-action immunity in an antitrust action, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The 6-3 decision (PDF) allows a Federal Trade Commission challenge to the board’s clampdown on teeth whitening by nondentists. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the…

Feb 25, 2015 11:33 AM CST

American Express merchant policies are anti-competitive, judge rules

A federal judge in Brooklyn has ruled that American Express violated antitrust laws by barring merchants from encouraging customers to pay with other lower-cost credit cards. Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled against American Express on Thursday in a suit filed in 2010 by the U.S. Justice Department and 17 states, report…

Feb 20, 2015 7:44 AM CST

Federal judge nixes TRO on new Chicago Cubs signs sought by rooftop seating companies

A federal judge has declined to issue an injunction on behalf of operators of rooftop bleachers on buildings adjacent to Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Several contended in a lawsuit filed last month against the team owners and chairman Thomas Ricketts that their renovation of Wrigley Field and purchase of other nearby…

Feb 19, 2015 12:20 PM CST

Caddies’ $50M suit says PGA Tour usurps endorsement opportunities with bib requirement

A class action lawsuit filed on behalf of professional golf caddies claims the PGA Tour forces them to wear bibs displaying the logos of corporate sponsors without sharing the revenue generated. The complaint (PDF), filed in San Francisco federal court on Tuesday, values the bib sponsorships at $50 million a…

Feb 4, 2015 10:31 AM CST

After last-minute lead plaintiff substitution, iPod users seek $350M at trial and get zilch

Corrected: A $350 million federal class action noteworthy for its last-minute appointment of a new lead plaintiff made it the jury this week—only to have the jury rule for the defendant company after about three hours of deliberation. The jury on Tuesday found Apple Inc. not liable for allegedly suppressing…

Dec 16, 2014 3:55 PM CST

Judge boots lead plaintiff in $350M case at trial against Apple, orders counsel to find a substitute

Agreeing with Apple Inc. that the only remaining lead plaintiff in a $350 million class action over iPods didn’t actually purchase one of the devices at issue, a federal judge has booted her from the case. However, rather than dismiss the antitrust case, which is at trial in Oakland, California,…

Dec 9, 2014 2:00 PM CST

Does $350M case at trial against Apple have a lead plaintiff? Judge hasn’t yet ruled

One of two lead plaintiffs dropped out of a $350 million antitrust class action against Apple Inc. last week, after lawyers for the computer goliath questioned whether she had purchased one of the iPods at issue in the California case. However, the federal judge overseeing the trial that is now…

Dec 8, 2014 5:40 PM CST

Uh-oh. Did lead plaintiffs seeking $350M in Apple trial purchase iPods as required?

Several days into the trial of a federal antitrust class action in which some 8 million iPod purchasers seek $350 million in damages from Apple Inc., a problem has arisen. It isn’t clear that the two lead plaintiffs did, in fact, purchase devices at issue in the nearly 10-year-old case,…

Dec 5, 2014 10:15 AM CST

Plaintiffs are seeking $1B in Apple trial over software that required iTunes to be played on iPods

Technology has moved on in the nearly 10 years since a class action was filed against Apple Inc. over the company’s handling of songs downloaded onto iPods from its iTunes Music Store. However, that won’t prevent the computer goliath from being hit with a costly damages award, if a federal…

Dec 4, 2014 10:25 AM CST

Google wins SLAPP motion, has constitutional right to list search results as it wishes

Unhappy about search-engine results that put its website way down in the list of results, the owner of CoastNews sued Google, alleging antitrust law issues and seeking some $5 million in damages. But the search-engine Goliath not only prevailed but did so in a motion to dismiss under California’s SLAPP…

Nov 18, 2014 2:30 PM CST

Clippers sale is completed as Donald Sterling files challenge with appeals court

A probate judge’s final order on Tuesday cleared the way for the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. The sale was completed as Donald Sterling sought an emergency order from a California appeals court to unwind the sale, report the…

Aug 13, 2014 12:42 PM CDT

Judge rules ban on payments to college athletes is an antitrust violation

A federal judge in Oakland, California, has ruled that the NCAA’s ban on payments to college athletes for use of their names and images is an antitrust violation. The 99-page ruling on Friday by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken said the NCAA could cap the payments to athletes, though the…

Aug 11, 2014 1:45 PM CDT

State AG sues 2 foreclosure law firms; one agrees to pay $10M and sell or close down

The Colorado attorney general filed suit Tuesday against the state’s biggest foreclosure law firms and two related companies. He alleges they racked up millions of dollars in profits by charging excessive fees to all parties involved in the cases, in violation of antitrust, consumer protection and debt-collection statutes. One of…

Jul 16, 2014 8:06 PM CDT