Antitrust Law

Barista Sues Starbucks for ‘Cluster-Bomb’ Approach to Competition

A federal judge has ruled that a Seattle-area coffeeshop owner may go to trial next year to air her claims in court: that coffee giant Starbucks “cluster-bombs” neighborhoods, barraging the areas with so many stores that competitors, like her, are driven off. Penny Stafford maintains the Starbucks strategy unfairly thwarted…

Nov 29, 2007 9:21 PM CST

DOJ Opposes Continued Microsoft Oversight

The U.S. Justice Department is opposing extension of antitrust oversight of Microsoft Corp. The DOJ brief filed Friday with a Washington, D.C., federal judge says the evidence does not show a need for five more years of oversight, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). Microsoft’s market dominance is not…

Nov 12, 2007 4:18 PM CST

Visa Agrees to $2 Billion Antitrust Settlement

Visa has agreed to pay more than $2 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by American Express, a sum thought to be the largest amount ever paid to resolve an antitrust case, the New York Times reports. American Express filed suit in 2004 after court rulings required Visa and MasterCard…

Nov 8, 2007 12:04 PM CST

McGuireWoods Lawyers to Reap about $12M in BAR/BRI Suit

Lawyers from McGuireWoods who represented students in an antitrust suit against a bar review company are expected to be awarded more than $12 million in attorney fees. Former McGuireWoods lawyer Eliot Disner is expected to get about one-third of those fees, the National Law Journal reports. Disner was fired from…

Oct 30, 2007 12:20 PM CDT

FTC Wants Wild Oats Buyout Genie Back in Bottle

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a long-shot appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s ruling and unravel Whole Foods’ purchase of rival Wild Oats. Whole Foods has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to dismiss the case as moot because the deal is complete, the Wall…

Oct 25, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

Microsoft Bends Knee to EU Regulation

Bowing down to the authority of the European Union to regulate antitrust issues, Microsoft Corp. has agreed to end a nine-year court battle and share some of its intellectual property with competitors. The move may signal a new era of increased EU enforcement of antitrust rules against dominant companies, now…

Oct 22, 2007 8:33 PM CDT

Coupons Snuffed in $96M Tobacco Antitrust Case

A California judge will be asked in a hearing today to approve a $96 million cash settlement of antitrust claims against the largest U.S. maker of smokeless tobacco products. The case would be the first to produce a cash settlement in antitrust suits against U.S. Tobacco, the Recorder reports. Plaintiffs…

Oct 17, 2007 1:52 PM CDT

Just the Facts, But More of Them

An antitrust ruling is proving to be a bigger deal than expected

Oct 1, 2007 6:12 PM CDT

A High-Tech GC Revolving Door

Donald Rosenberg appears to have a habit of replacing high-tech general counsel who leave their posts under a cloud. He is leaving his job at Apple Inc. and being replaced by another Silicon Valley general counsel in what the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) calls “a game of musical chairs.”…

Sep 28, 2007 7:09 PM CDT

Business Cases Back Before Friendly Court

High-profile business cases are back before the U.S. Supreme Court after a term in which the justices handed big wins to corporate defendants in antitrust, patent and securities law cases. The court’s decisions made it more difficult for plaintiffs to get into the courthouse door, targeted discovery costs and tightened…

Sep 28, 2007 6:23 PM CDT

AMD Has ‘Conniption’ Over Lost E-mail

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is asking a special master to force Intel to prove it is making progress recovering e-mail that was lost during antitrust litigation. The Recorder characterizes AMD’s court filing as “a conniption.” “These were not the common accidental and inconsequential losses of electronic evidence that often occur…

Sep 17, 2007 1:54 PM CDT

Microsoft European Fine Upheld

Europe’s second highest court has affirmed a 2004 European Commission finding that Microsoft violated antitrust law. The European Court of First Instance upheld a $689.4 million fine, saying the software maker had abused its dominant market position, the New York Times reports. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports that…

Sep 17, 2007 11:21 AM CDT

Qualcomm Loses Antitrust Appeal

A federal appeals court ruling against Qualcomm Inc. endorses competition and fair play when companies make assertions to boards that set standards for an industry. Fordham law school professor Mark Patterson told the New Jersey Law Journal that the appellate ruling “potentially offers more room for competition.” The lower court…

Sep 6, 2007 10:54 AM CDT

$75 Million Attorney Fee an Iowa Record?

A judge’s approval today of a $180 million antitrust settlement by Microsoft Corp. includes $75 million in attorney fees and costs, which apparently sets an Iowa record. Lead counsel Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, who brought the case with Richard Hagstrom of Minneapolis, says one reason why the legal bill…

Aug 31, 2007 10:22 PM CDT

$75 M Payday Before Judge

An Iowa judge will decide today whether to approve $75 million in attorney fees for two lawyers who settled a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for nearly $180 million. Microsoft has not objected to the fees for Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin and Minneapolis lawyer Richard Hagstrom of Zelle, Hofmann,…

Aug 31, 2007 10:50 AM CDT