Antitrust Group

Federal Court Green Lights Live Nation’s Mandatory Parking Fees

An Illinois federal judge has dismissed a class action alleging that Live Nation Entertainment Inc. illegally tied mandatory parking fees to concert tickets, finding that neither the $9 fee nor Live Nation’s economic power were significant enough to warrant action under antitrust and consumer protection laws. Judge Gary Feinerman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois threw out...

Second Circuit Dashes Charm City’s Hopes In Auction Rate Securities Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has shut down Baltimore’s quest to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars the city lost in the collapse of the market for auction rate securities during the economic downturn in 2008. The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the class action complaints in Mayor and City Council of Baltimore et al. v. Citigroup Inc. et al., finding that the claims of boycott and...

NCAA Scores With Motion To Dismiss

The National Collegiate Athletic Association bylaws escaped unscathed after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana dismissed the amended complaint in Rock v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, a class action alleging NCAA limits on athletics-based financial aid violate antitrust laws. Plaintiffs John Rock, Tim Steward, and Kody Collins each received scholarships for athletic and...

Drafting Agreement Mires Energy Companies In Bid-Rigging Claims In Michigan

NorthStar Energy LLC is suing Encana Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, alleging the two companies’ drafting of an agreement violated antitrust laws by rigging the bidding process for NorthStar’s oil and gas leases. According to the complaint in NorthStar Energy LLC v. Encana Corp. et al., NorthStar Energy was granted the rights to explore...

Wholesaler Grocers’ Arbitration Argument Misfires In Eighth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has decided that arbitration agreements are not necessarily the silver bullet that will dispose of antitrust claims five retail groceries (the “Retailers”) are asserting against two of the largest wholesale grocers in the United States – SuperValu Inc. and C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. (the “Wholesalers”). While the Eighth Circuit reversed the ruling...

Vitamin C Makers Seek Boost From Former Chinese Official In Price-Fixing Trial

Vitamin C manufacturers currently on trial in federal court in Brooklyn are hoping their defense to price-fixing claims will get a boost from last week’s testimony by a former Chinese government official that China compelled them to engage in allegedly anticompetitive behavior. Plaintiffs in the class action In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation are seeking to convince a jury in the U.S. District Court for the...