Antitrust Group

Whistle-Blowing Banks Escape Record Fines EU Imposes In Rate-Fixing Investigation

By Gary J. Malone The record fines imposed by the European Union today as part of its settlement with eight global financial institutions for fixing benchmark interest rates highlight both the risks of collusion and the rewards of coming clean. Although the EU fined the group of financial institutions a record total of 1.7 billion euros (about $2.3 billion), two of the participants in the cartels—UBS and...

Cargo Shipping Companies’ Price Signaling Could Run Aground In EU Probe

By Jeffrey I. Shinder The steady stream of cartel investigations and lawsuits on both sides of the Atlantic in recent months highlights the need for vigilant antitrust enforcement to protect consumer welfare, despite the views of those, like the Wall Street Journal editorial page, who question the wisdom of antitrust law. These alleged cartels range from the apparently venal manipulations of the financial...

DOJ Allows American Airlines-US Airways Merger To Leave The Gate, But Will The Judge Clear It For Takeoff?

By Jeffrey I. Shinder and Ankur Kapoor

On November 20, 2013, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly set the stage for judicial review of the settlement that the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has reached to resolve its challenge of the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways.

The court’s order sets the schedule for the Tunney Act procedure, which is the congressionally mandated judicial...

NCAA Athletes Score On Injunctive Class Certification As Court Blocks Damage Claims

Former and current student athletes have achieved a major goal in their class action challenging National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) rules permitting the use of their likenesses without compensation, convincing the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to certify a class for their claims for injunctive relief. The NCAA also scored in In re: NCAA Student-Athlete Name &...

All In All, Illinois Brick Won’t Be Another Brick In The Wall Against Indirect Purchaser Suits In Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to import the U.S. bar to antitrust damage suits by indirect purchasers, rejecting the rule adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case of Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 720 (1977). In three antitrust cases, the Canadian Supreme Court held that indirect purchasers could bring class actions seeking damages sustained as a result of overcharges passed on...

Eleventh Circuit Shoots Down Second Antitrust Bid By Atlanticus

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a novel antitrust counterclaim brought by Atlanticus Holdings Corp. against a group of hedge funds, holding that the doctrine of res judicata bars Atlanticus’s attempt to relitigate the issue. The plaintiffs in Akanthos Capital Mangement et al. v. Atlanticus Holdings Corp. are 21 hedge funds, including Akanthos Capital Management...