Antitrust in the News

Elizabeth C. PritzkerPritzker Levine LLP On December 18, 2017, Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California issued simultaneous orders granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant manufacturers of optical disk drives in the indirect purchaser class proceedings in theOptical Disk Drive MDL, In re Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Litig ., No. 10-md-02143-RS, 2017 WL 6503743 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2017) (“ ODD”).  The court found that plaintiffs failed to demonstrate evidence of injury and causation, as required to proceed… Read more

Abiel GarciaGibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP On November 9, 2017, U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper granted certification to a group of end payors who allege that they paid higher prices for ulcerative colitis drug Asacol due to a product hop employed by Warner Chilcott and parent company Allergan.  In re Asacol Antitrust Litig., No. 15-cv-12730-DJC, 2017 WL 5196381 (D. Mass. Nov. 9, 2017) (“Asacol”).  The lawsuit revolves around 400-milligram Asacol.  At the suit’s core, plaintiffs allege that Warner Chilcott, knowing… Read more

Sonal Mittal TolmanWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati On November 17, 2017, Northern District of California District Court Judge Edward J. Davila dismissed the massive multidistrict tracking litigation against Facebook for the third and final time. In re Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation, No. 5:12-md-02314-EJD, 2017 WL 5525895 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 17, 2017). Judge Davila held the plaintiffs, who accused Facebook of tracking users’ browsing activity after they signed off, failed to identify any contract that prohibited such practices. Plaintiffs alleged that… Read more

David M. GoldsteinOrrick LLP In a decision that is sure to please patent assertion entities, on December 1, 2017, several Intellectual Ventures (IV) companies prevailed on summary judgment on antitrust counterclaims that Capital One asserted in response to a patent infringement suit filed by Intellectual Ventures I LLC and Intellectual Ventures II LLC in the district court in Maryland. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Financial Corp., No. 8:14-cv-00111-PWG, Memorandum and Opinion, ECF No. 686 (D. Md. Dec. 1,… Read more

Harrison (Buzz) Frahn, Caitlyn Chacon, Marissa LambertSimpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP On November 4, 2017, Judge Margo Brodie of the Eastern District of New York denied the North American Soccer League, LLC’s (“NASL”) request for a preliminary injunction blocking the United States Soccer Federation, Inc.’s (“USSF”) revocation of NASL’s Division II league status for the 2018 professional soccer season. NASL claimed that the preliminary injunction would resolve “the immediate prospect of being driven out of existence as a competitor,” while… Read more