Antitrust Today

In re Student Athlete Name and Likeness Litigation – Recap Of The First Week Of Trial

By David Scupp The participants in the highly anticipated, and potentially transformative, antitrust trial In re Student Athlete Name and Likeness Licensing Litigation spent their first week of trial grappling with the myths and realities of college athletics. Plaintiffs, led by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, challenge the NCAA’s rules denying compensation to college athletes for use of their name...

EU General Court Upholds Record 1.06 Billion Euro Antitrust Fine Against Intel

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Irene Fraile The General Court of the European Union has dismissed Intel’s appeal of the European Commission´s decision fining the computer chip manufacturer a record 1.06 billion euros for breaching EU competition law. The European Commission imposed the fine on Intel in May 2009, after finding that Intel abused its dominant position in the x86 CPU...

Container Shipping Companies Seek To Steer Clear Of European Antitrust Shoals

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Natalia Mikolajczyk and Richard Pike Major container shipping companies are attempting to resolve the European Commission’s antitrust probe into their practice of publicly announcing price increases. The two biggest players in the container shipping market, A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S and Mediterranean Shipping Company, hope to end the proceedings without...

District Court Rejects “Double Counting” Attack On Damages Theory In Meritor’s Exclusive Dealing Case

By Matthew L. Cantor and Allison F. Sheedy Judge Sue L. Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has denied a motion for summary judgment on damages in ZF Meritor LLC and Meritor Transmission Corporation v. Eaton Corporation, setting up the long-running antitrust case for a trial on damages that is slated to start on June 23, 2014. Plaintiffs are now free to seek the full $800 million...

$20 Million Settlement Domino Falls In High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, With More On The Brink

By David Golden The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has granted the motion of plaintiffs in In Re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation for final approval of class action settlements with Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Intuit for $20 million. The court’s final approval of these settlements follows the recent announcement of another, much larger, proposed settlement in the same lawsuit...

European Commissioner Rebuffs German CEO’s Criticisms Of Google Search Engine Settlement

A View from Constantine Cannon’s London Office By Michael Petrides The European Commission’s Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, is strongly defending the EC from charges that its proposed settlement with Google concerning search engine practices would permit Google to expand its dominant market position. Commissioner Alumina’s defense of the proposed settlement joins a debate with Matthias...

Two Calls Go Against The NCAA In Student-Athletes’ Name and Likeness Litigation

By David Scupp The NCAA was on the losing end of two orders entered this week in the In re NCAA Student Athlete Name & Likeness Licensing Litigation. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied the NCAA’s motion for leave to file a motion for partial reconsideration of the court’s order denying the NCAA’s motion for summary judgment on antitrust claims of current and former...

DOJ And FTC Will Discuss Whether Bundled Discounts Are A Bundle Of Antitrust Trouble Or A Bundle Of Joy For Consumers

By Ankur Kapoor[1] The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice will attempt to unravel the antitrust pros and cons of bundled discounts and other conditional-pricing practices in a one-day public workshop on June 23, 2014. Bundled discounts, which are discounts offered for the purchase of a “bundle” of goods or services, exist in many markets.  The...

The NBA Constitution Might Well Block Donald Sterling From Challenging A Forced Sale Of His Clippers In Court

By Jeffery I. Shinder and David Scupp Donald Sterling is going to find the NBA constitution a major roadblock if he attempts to fight in court the NBA’s decision to seek his ouster as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Yesterday, we analyzed the antitrust implications of the NBA’s decision to respond forcefully to Sterling’s recently reported offensive and racially charged comments.  In addition to...

Can The NBA Force A Sale Of Sterling's Clippers Without Running Afoul Of The Antitrust Laws?

By Jeffery I. Shinder and David Scupp

We applaud the NBA for the firm stance it took against racism, which we believe should have no place in our country.  Having said that, we note that some have suggested that Donald Sterling may file an antitrust lawsuit to maintain his grip on the Clippers, or to gain some leverage to get full value for the team in a forced sale.  Notwithstanding our views on his conduct, we...