Antitrust Law

DOJ Hires Well-Known Litigator in Google Antitrust Ad Probe

The Justice Department has hired Sanford Litvack, who is a former partner at Hogan & Hartson and a former antitrust chief under President Carter, to review evidence in an antitrust probe of Google’s advertising power. Litvack will help build the case if the department decides to proceed with a challenge…

Sep 9, 2008 11:28 AM CDT

Brighton Ruling Spurs More Minimum Prices and Some Lawsuits

A U.S. Supreme Court decision involving Brighton handbags has led several manufacturers to set minimum prices for their products and cut off retailers who fail to follow them. The June 2007 decision, Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. v. PSKS Inc., said companies may set and enforce minimum prices if they…

Aug 18, 2008 11:58 AM CDT

FTC Enforcer Moves to Linklaters

After rumors that he was leaving the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, reports emerged Thursday that Jeffrey Schmidt is indeed on the move. Schmidt, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, is becoming an antitrust partner at Linklaters in New York City, Reuters reports. The news agency reports that Schmidt said…

Aug 8, 2008 10:06 AM CDT

Court Sides With ‘Long Shot’ FTC Appeal in Whole Foods Antitrust Battle

When the Federal Trade Commission sought to overturn a judge’s ruling and unravel Whole Foods’ purchase of rival Wild Oats, the appeal was dubbed a long shot. Regulators usually give up antitrust litigation after a deal is completed because of the difficulty of unwinding it. But the FTC persisted and…

Jul 29, 2008 4:57 PM CDT

D.C. Lawyer Helped Nab Suspect in Jogger Attacks; Cop Didn’t Pursue Levy Lead

An antitrust lawyer for Arnold & Porter who was attacked by a man as she was jogging in a Washington, D.C., park in 2001 fought off her attacker and helped police find a suspect. But police investigating the disappearance of intern Chandra Levy were slow to recognize a possible lead…

Jul 18, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Tech Companies Seek to Head Off Patent Trolls With IP-Buying Group

Several high-tech companies have joined a group that seeks to deny sustenance to patent trolls. The group plans to buy rights to intellectual property, beating patent trolls to the marketplace, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The so-called trolls buy patent rights and then sue companies for infringement. The…

Jun 30, 2008 12:18 PM CDT

Ex-Client Says Kaye Scholer Discovery Errors Cost Millions

Updated: A former client of Kaye Scholer has sued the New York law firm for legal malpractice, contending that discovery errors forced it to enter into a $107 million antitrust settlement last month. It is seeking as damages the difference between $107 million and the nuisance settlement it says it…

Jun 26, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

4 Airlines to Pay $504M in Near Record Price-Fixing Payout

Four international airlines have agreed to pay $504 million to settle charges they conspired to drive up air cargo rates. The Justice Department says the antitrust settlement is one of the largest in history, the Associated Press reports. Air France-KLM will pay $350 million, while the rest will be paid…

Jun 26, 2008 5:36 PM CDT

High Court to Hear ‘Price Squeeze’ Antitrust Case that Split FTC and SG

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that tests the antitrust “price squeeze” doctrine in a case against a unit of AT&T. The issue has divided the government, with the Federal Trade Commission supporting the theory and the Justice Department opposing it. Several Internet providers had sued…

Jun 23, 2008 5:46 PM CDT

At 92, Antitrust Lawyer Has More Years at DOJ Than Any Other

Ninety-two-year-old Bernard Hollander has worked for 59 years in the antitrust division of the Justice Department, more years than any other lawyer there. Legal Times reports that Hollander earned just $3,700 his first year on the job and one of his first big cases involved helping break RCA’s monopoly on…

Jun 23, 2008 1:28 PM CDT

New FTC Chief Opens Formal Antitrust Probe into Intel Pricing

Computer chip maker Intel Corp. is facing a formal antitrust investigation of anti-competitive pricing by the Federal Trade Commission. The company issued a statement saying it received an FTC subpoena on Wednesday, but its practices “are well within U.S. law,” the New York Times reports. Government officials and lawyers involved…

Jun 6, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

Tip Leads to Price-Fixing Probe of Two UK Law-Firm Lenders

Two law firm lenders in the United Kingdom are under investigation for possible price fixing. Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are being investigated in connection with their professional services loans, Legal Week reports. The institutions are the U.K.’s two largest lenders to law and accounting firms. The Office of…

Jun 3, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Credit Card Cos. Can Be Sued for Forcing Arbitration, 2nd Circuit Says

Updated: A class action by credit card holders over mandatory arbitration provisions imposed by credit card issuers can proceed to trial, a federal appeals court has ruled. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision today overturns a district court ruling that the cardholders did not have…

Apr 25, 2008 4:15 PM CDT

Drug Companies Beware: FTC Commissioner Kovacic Gets Promoted

William Kovacic, a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, has been named chairman of the agency. He will replace Deborah Platt Majoras, who is leaving to join the legal department at Procter & Gamble. Kovacic is former general counsel of the agency, the Associated Press reports. He also taught at…

Mar 27, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

Supreme Court Declines Microsoft Antitrust Appeal

The U.S. Supreme court has turned down an appeal by Microsoft Corp. that seeks to halt a multibillion-dollar lawsuit contending it “deliberately targeted and destroyed” a competitor’s word-processing program to protect its Windows operating system monopoly. Novell Inc. claims Microsoft targeted its WordPerfect program and other office productivity applications because…

Mar 17, 2008 4:24 PM CDT