Last week, the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in a lengthy and complex antitrust case about the prices of replacement truck hoods in the American auto parts industry. In Superior Production Partnership v. Gordon Auto Body Parts (“PBSI v. Gordon”), the court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendant Gordon based largely on several … Continue Reading
In Collins Inkjet Corp. v. Eastman Kodak Co., the Sixth Circuit recently held that differential pricing—charging more for a product when the customer fails to buy a second “tied” product—constitutes unlawful tying only when the second product is effectively being sold for below-cost. In adopting this “discount attribution” standard, the court sided with the Ninth … Continue Reading
Last week, the Sixth Circuit issued its opinion affirming summary judgment for the defendants in Hyland v. Home Services of America, Inc., a class action by former clients of several large real estate firms, who alleged that the firms engaged in antitrust behavior by colluding to inflate their commission rates in violation of the Sherman … Continue Reading
Pending before the Supreme Court for its conference last Friday was a request for certiorari in the recent Sixth Circuit case of Dean Foods Company v. Food Lion, LLC. In an order issued today, the Supreme Court denied certiorari and allowed the decision to stand without further comment. Dean Foods (also known as In re Southeastern … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit will soon be clarifying its standard for so-called “non-explicit” unlawful tying in Collins Inkjet Corp. v. Eastman Kodak Co., Case No. 14-3306, currently awaiting submission to a panel. Kodak and Collins both make Versamark products, including ink and printer parts, but only Kodak refurbishes printheads. After Collins terminated its relationship as … Continue Reading
In ProMedica Health System, Inc. v. FTC, the Sixth Circuit upheld the FTC’s decision to block ProMedica’s purchase of St. Luke’s hospital in Lucas County, Ohio. A unanimous panel held that the merger would substantially lessen competition in the county’s highly concentrated market for primary and secondary case from four hospitals to just three. ProMedica … Continue Reading
In Katz v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company (No. 10-3545), the Sixth Circuit held that title insurance companies are all but immune to private antitrust claims in Ohio. The plaintiff alleged that twenty-two title insurance companies and the Ohio Insurance Rating Bureau violated antitrust law by pooling claims data and setting a collective and unreasonably … Continue Reading
We recently reported on the Sixth Circuit’s decision to dismiss an antitrust appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The appeal had been taken by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan in connection with an antitrust suit brought by the State of Michigan which sought to enjoin Blue Cross from using most favored nation clauses in its contracts with … Continue Reading
In Carrier Corporation v. Outokumpu OYJ, Nos. 07-6052/6114 (Mar. 2, 2012)(Carrier.pdf), the Sixth Circuit reviewed the dismissal of antitrust claims which had been brought by purchasers of air-conditioning and refrigeration copper tubing. Much of the lawsuit revolved around two decisions issued by the Commission of the European Communities (the “EC”) in 2003 and 2004, which determined … Continue Reading
In an opinion examining website policies restricting access to certain types of real-estate brokerage information, the Sixth Circuit ruled that such policies were anticompetitive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. In Realcomp II, Ltd. v. FTC (6th Cir. 09-4596) [PDF], a unanimous panel affirmed a ruling of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and found … Continue Reading
On September 23, a group of dairy petitioners filed a petition in the Sixth Circuit seeking interlocutory review of a class action certification in a significant antitrust case — In re Southeastern Milk Antitrust Litig.pdf (Case No. 10-0504) (PDF). The Sixth Circuit has no “hard-and-fast test” for determining whether to grant a Rule 23(f) petition … Continue Reading
