CompetitionRSS

  • November 7, 2007

    Supreme Court Considers Arbitration Case

    The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a dispute over when U.S. courts are allowed to review a decision reached in arbitration — a case Justice Stephen Breyer half-jokingly called the “case of the century.”

  • November 7, 2007

    AAI Urges FTC To Block Google-DoubleClick Union

    The American Antitrust Institute is lashing out at Google Inc.'s proposed $3 billion takeover of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick Inc., arguing that publicly available information suggests that the acquisition raises serious competitive issues under several different antitrust theories.

  • November 8, 2007

    Rambus Defends Judgment Bid On Monopoly Claims

    Rambus Inc. on Wednesday argued that a court should dismiss counterclaims brought by companies it sued over memory process patents, affirming an earlier motion for summary judgment. The companies alleged that Rambus acted to monopolize the industry.

  • November 7, 2007

    Another Co. Settles In Concrete Price-Fixing Scandal

    Shelby Gravel Inc. has agreed to pay $4.7 million to settle civil charges that it participated in a concrete price-fixing scandal in Indiana.

  • November 6, 2007

    Two Marine Hose Execs Plead Guilty To Price-Fixing

    The U.S. Department of Justice has struck its first plea deals in its marine hose price-fixing and bid-rigging probe, with two Trelleborg Industrie SAS executives agreeing to speak up, pay up and go to jail.

  • November 6, 2007

    Grape Growers Got Squeezed: Antitrust, Patent Suit

    The California Table Grape Commission violated federal antitrust laws when it squeezed out extra revenue from growers by demanding licenses and accepting royalties on three patents — covering new varieties of grapes — that it knew were invalid, according to a lawsuit filed by three companies which paid for licenses to plant and harvest the patented grapevines.

  • November 6, 2007

    Judge Keeps Privileged Ditropan Documents Sealed

    A federal judge has refused to force Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Alza Corp. to turn over 112 pages of privileged documents requested by indirect purchasers in the multidistrict litigation over bladder control drug Ditropan XL.

  • November 6, 2007

    Supreme Court To Tackle Federal Arbitration Act

    Arbitration's growing pains will be on display before the Supreme Court justices Wednesday, as they hear oral arguments in a unique arbitration challenge that could have a broad impact in a wide variety of disputes.

  • November 6, 2007

    Ex-Exec Pleads Guilty To Bribing Nigerian Petrol Co.

    A former executive for oil-and-gas services company Willbros Group Inc. has pled guilty to bribing officials at Nigeria's state-run petroleum company in exchange for pipeline construction contracts.

  • November 6, 2007

    BMS, AstraZeneca Pay AWP Plaintiffs Double Damages

    A federal judge has ordered AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb to pay Massachusetts plaintiffs in the average wholesale drug price multidistrict litigation $12.9 million and $695,594, respectively, doubling the damages requested after finding that the drug companies knowingly and willfully inflated the average wholesale prices for specific drugs.

  • November 5, 2007

    German Energy Cos. Accused Of Price-Fixing

    Germany's antitrust watchdog said Monday that the European Union had found evidence that some of the country's largest utilities colluded to keep electricity prices high.

  • November 6, 2007

    N.Y. AG Rebukes Attempt To Delay DRAM Settlement

    Arguing that seven remaining, non-settling defendants have no standing to object, the New York attorney general urged the court to ignore their request to hold off on granting preliminary approval to the indirect purchaser plaintiffs' settlements with Samsung Group and Winbond Electronics Corp.

  • November 5, 2007

    Insurance Antitrust Defendents Fight For Stay

    The defendants in a class action over anti-competitive conduct in the insurance industry on Friday insisted that, despite arguments from several plaintiffs, not staying the case as it goes through the appeals court would cause the multidistrict litigation to “degenerate into piecemeal litigation of common issue.”

  • November 5, 2007

    U.S. Says It Need Not Produce Docs In AWP Case

    In a government action against the major drug companies over an alleged Medicare scam, the U.S. on Friday defended its right to keep secret records explaining the rationale for relying on the industry's own prices.

  • November 5, 2007

    Intel Seeks AMD Report In Antitrust Battle

    In a long-running antitrust battle between rival microprocessor companies, Intel Corp. has asked a federal court to force Advance Micro Devices to turn over the details of a study that claims $60 billion of Intel's profits over the past decade came from anti-competitive conduct.

  • November 5, 2007

    Celgene Wants Barr's Antitrust Claims Put On Hold

    Celgene Corp. is asking a New Jersey court to put the antitrust and unfair competition counterclaims Barr Laboratories Inc. lodged in response to Celgene's patent infringement complaint over the cancer drug Thalomid on the back burner, arguing that letting the counterclaims go forward now would waste the court's time.

  • November 5, 2007

    Medco, Merck Fight Pharmacies' Take On Per Se Rule

    Medco Health Solutions Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. have accused pharmacies of distorting a recent Illinois district court decision, allegedly misinterpreting it as affirmation that agreements between buyers to depress prices paid to pharmacies constitute per se anti-competitive price-fixing.

  • November 5, 2007

    Mylan Plaintiffs Make New Bid For Treble Damages

    In its long-running antitrust litigation against Mylan Laboratories over two of the generic drug maker's anti-anxiety drugs, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has renewed its effort to push the court to triple damages against Mylan and two drug ingredient supplier defendants, citing details from a separate case.

  • November 5, 2007

    Madison Square Loses Bid For Injunction Against NHL

    Madison Square Garden LP has lost the first round of its lawsuit against the National Hockey League when a district court judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction on the league's plans to collectivize all team Web sites.

  • November 5, 2007

    Bill Targets High Court's Vertical Price-Fixing Decision

    Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has introduced a bill that aims to preserve discount shopping for consumers despite a recent Supreme Court decision that discounted a century-old precedent and allowed manufacturers to set a minimum price for their products.