Antitrust Insights and Analysis

Rocking the Boats: Federal Government Tackles Competition in Maritime Shipping

The Federal government is taking a closer look at the maritime shipping industry—and for good reason. In 2000, the 10 largest shipping companies controlled just half of the world container shipping market.  Today, it’s more than 80%. As goods are increasingly manufactured in Asia and then transported to the United States, ocean carriers control a critical chokepoint.  This shift, combined with COVID-19,...

An Epic Fail or an Epic Win for Tech Antitrust?

On September 10, the court issued its judgment in the trial of Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc., ruling in Apple’s favor on nine out of Epic’s ten claims and on Apple’s counterclaims, but in Epic Games’ favor on its claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law.  Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ 180-page, single-spaced findings of fact and conclusions of law are the first exposition, by a U.S. court, of...

In the Dog Days of Summer, Prescription Pet Food Conspiracy Case Beats a Motion to Dismiss in Kansas

Is there any truth to the allegations that pet food manufacturers have conspired to monopolize and artificially inflate prices in the prescription pet food market?   The Court of Appeals of Kansas says possibly—or at least that Stevie Kucharski-Berger’s case making those allegations can withstand a motion to dismiss and seek proof of those claims through discovery. Kucharski-Berger, upon advice of, and with a...

Supreme Court Reaffirms that Social Benefits Cannot Trump Competition Under the Sherman Act

Antitrust defendants have repeatedly failed to convince the Supreme Court it should recognize social objectives—that do not enhance competition—as defenses to restraints of trade challenged under the Rule of Reason analysis applied to most Sherman Act claims.  The Supreme Court extended that string of losses with its recent decision in NCAA v. Alston, which ruled, once again, that a defendant cannot defend...

FTC Trial Seeks to Promote Competition in Cancer-Screening Tests by Unwinding Illumina-GRAIL Merger

The FTC kicked off its trial challenging Illumina Inc.’s completed acquisition of GRAIL Inc. on Tuesday by urging an FTC administrative law judge to undo the $7.1 billion deal, arguing it would harm innovation and boost prices of cancer-screening tests. The FTC’s bid to unwind the merger of DNA sequencing leader Illumina and GRAIL, a biotech company focused on early cancer screenings could impact the health of...

The FTC’s Revival of its Facebook Complaint Shows That it’s Serious

The FTC’s revival of its monopoly maintenance claims against Facebook demonstrates what a serious antitrust enforcer can do after an unexpected setback. As expected, the FTC has filed an Amended Complaint that adds substantial factual allegations to respond to U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg’s order dismissing the FTC’s initial Complaint for supposedly failing to allege sufficient facts to support...

Ten Facts About Jonathan Kanter, Biden’s Pick to Head Antitrust

President Biden’s nomination of Jonathan Kanter to be the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is a sure sign that the Administration is serious about reinvigorating antitrust enforcement. While the Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet taken any action on the nomination, which the White House announced last month, it’s not too soon to consider 10 key facts...

FTC Revives Monopoly Maintenance Claims Against Facebook

The FTC filed an amended complaint against Facebook yesterday, reviving its ongoing federal antitrust case against the leading online social network. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg surprised many observers when he dismissed the FTC’s original complaint in June 2021 for failing to allege sufficient facts to support the agency’s allegation that Facebook had monopoly power in a relevant market.  The...

Ten Facts About FTC’s Lina Khan

Lina Khan was making antitrust news even before President Biden nominated her to be a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission in March of 2021, which was followed by his appointment of Kahn to be the Chairperson of the FTC in June.  Here are 10 facts about Kahn that may offer some clues to the news she is likely to make as she strives to accomplish her goal of reinvigorating the FTC.

1. At the age of 32, Khan...

New York’s Proposed Antitrust Overhaul Would Allow Recovery of Expert Fees

New York may soon be at the vanguard of antitrust enforcement and litigation in the United States in more ways than one. On June 7, 2021, the New York Senate passed Senate Bill S933A (43 aye, 20 nay), which would overhaul the Donnelly Act, New York’s antitrust law.  Constantine Cannon lawyers have already discussed what the bill’s “abuse of dominance” provisions would mean for companies that have market...