Antitrust Law

Google Books Settlement May Violate Antitrust Law, DOJ Contends

A pending settlement between Google Inc. and groups representing authors and publishers could violate antitrust law, the U.S. Department of Justice says in a letter to the federal judge in the Southern District of New York who is overseeing the case. Although the DOJ has made no finding that antitrust…

Jul 2, 2009 9:33 PM CDT

Intel Fined Record $1.45B in European Antitrust Case

The European Commission has fined Intel a record $1.45 billion for using anti-competitive practices to keep competitor Advanced Micro Devices out of the market for computer chips. Intel was accused of paying computer makers and retailers not to carry AMD products, according to the New York Times and the Wall…

May 13, 2009 11:17 AM CDT

Antitrust Chief Set to Announce Stronger Predatory Behavior Rules

Christine Varney, the chief of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, will announce today a tougher antitrust stance supporting smaller companies that complain of aggressive tactics by market-dominating rivals. Varney will call for aggressive action against dominant companies that engage in predatory behavior in two speeches, the first today at the…

May 11, 2009 1:46 PM CDT

Whole Foods Settles Antitrust Case, Agrees to Sell 32 Wild Oats Stores

The Federal Trade Commission’s longtime effort to unravel the purchase of Wild Oats by Whole Foods has ended in a settlement. Whole Foods has agreed to sell 32 of 74 Wild Oats groceries, restoring competition in 17 geographic areas, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Several of the…

Mar 6, 2009 4:28 PM CST

9th Circuit is 0 for 6 Before the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection yesterday of an antitrust “price squeeze” claim is the sixth decision this term overturning or vacating decisions by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court has yet to affirm a decision by the San Francisco-based appeals court this term, the Daily Journal…

Feb 26, 2009 12:34 PM CST

Supreme Court Rejects Antitrust ‘Price Squeeze’ Claim

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a claim that an AT&T subsidiary engaged in an illegal price squeeze by charging competitors steep wholesale rates for high-speed Internet service, making it impossible to compete on the retail level with the parent company. The price-squeeze theory holds that a company with market…

Feb 25, 2009 5:54 PM CST

Ex-DOJ Antitrust Chief Heads Back to Covington

The Justice Department’s antitrust chief will be going back to his former law firm, Covington & Burling. Thomas Barnett resigned from his post in November and spent a few months relaxing with family and friends. Now he is going back to the law firm where he spent 14 years of…

Jan 28, 2009 5:29 PM CST

Antitrust Litigator Hausfeld Seeks Millions in Fees from Ex-Firm

The war of words between Michael Hausfeld and the law firm he once headed has now become a court battle. When Hausfeld left Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll, he took 17 antitrust lawyers with him, and now he’s also seeking to take possibly millions of dollars in fees, Legal Times…

Jan 23, 2009 3:23 PM CST

New DOJ Picks Hail from MoFo, Covington, Hogan & Hartson

President Barack Obama has named four lawyers to Justice Department posts, and three of them come from large law firms. They are: • Christine Varney of Hogan & Hartson, to head the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Varney is a former member of the Federal Trade Commission who often voted to…

Jan 23, 2009 11:58 AM CST

Likely Antitrust Nominees: Harvard Law Prof and FTC Commissioner

Harvard law professor Einer Elhauge and Federal Trade Commission commissioner Jon Leibowitz are likely to be nominated to the nation’s two top antitrust jobs, a wire service is reporting. Elhauge is expected to be named to head the Justice Department’s antitrust division, Reuters reports, and Leibowitz is expected to be…

Jan 15, 2009 4:30 PM CST

Whole Foods Lawyer: FTC Wants to ‘Put the Toothpaste Back in the Tube’

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal judge to stop further integration of Wild Oats Markets with Whole Foods, but an opposing lawyer says it’s already too late. The commission asked U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman of Washington, D.C., to order Wild Oats stores that became part of Whole…

Jan 13, 2009 6:20 PM CST

Winston & Strawn Picks Up 19 Thelen Lawyers

Chicago-based Winston & Strawn has added lawyers from a second dissolving law firm. Winston is hiring 19 lawyers from Thelen, according to a firm press release. Among those joining Winston are the head of Thelen’s antitrust practice, Robert Pringle, two other antitrust partners and several associates from the group, reported…

Nov 19, 2008 3:00 PM CST

Dispute over Antitrust Focus May Have Caused Cohen Milstein Rift

A focus on international antitrust work may have cost the chairman of Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll his job. Antitrust litigator Michael Hausfeld has complained that he was informed of his expulsion from the firm earlier this month by a note left on his chair, but little has been said…

Nov 17, 2008 1:14 PM CST

Note on Chair Informed Cohen Milstein Head of His Expulsion From Firm

Although he was then chairman of the firm, Michael Hausfeld apparently didn’t even know that his fellow partners at Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll were holding a vote Nov. 6 about whether to expel a partner. But after the vote, Bloomberg reports, a note on Hausfeld’s chair put him in…

Nov 11, 2008 11:38 PM CST

Antitrust Chief Resigns; Obama Likely to Seek Aggressive Successor

The Justice Department’s antitrust chief has announced his resignation. Assistant attorney general Thomas Barnett, who headed the antitrust division since 2005, will leave on Nov. 19, Reuters reports. Barnett was known for aggressive enforcement of laws barring pricing conspiracies, but critics said he too-readily approved mergers between market-dominating companies, the…

Nov 7, 2008 6:22 PM CST